Tuli Tuipulotu 2023 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Background: 

• Brother, Marlon, is a member of the Philadelphia Eagles on the defensive line

• Family history is extensive with NFL talent: Marlon and cousins Talanoa Hufanga and Fili Moala all played for USC as well
• Led the team with 5.5 sacks in 2021 on his way to being named 1st-team All-Pac-12 

System: 

• Scheme tendencies: Multiple front defense
• 2022 projected role: Starting defensive lineman

Pros: Tuli Tuipulotu has a powerful build to play along the defensive front. He’s grown into his body well and looks like a pro-ready player based on how dense he is all the way through. I thought he came on nicely throughout the season in 2021 after serving as a rotational player with a handful of starts in 2020 during the COVID-19-shortened season. You got a good contrast of skills against different styles of offense between the Stanford, Washington State, UCLA, Utah, and BYU games; he showcased alignment diversity to play in different spots and fulfill different roles for multiple fronts. He’s got heavy hands and the ability to really shock blockers to win knockback at the point of attack—I thought some of his best reps in gap control came head-up on offensive tackles with stunning upfield push. He’s got a pretty hot motor, too. He looks to spin off blocks and double back into the flow of the football. He’s made a handful of secondary plays that weren’t initially there for the taking. One of my favorite such plays came against Washington State on a fourth-down QB run in the low red zone. He collapsed initially to squeeze his gap and peeled back off reactively to square up and absorb the quarterback for a run stuff. This is a violent hitter who absorbs contact from ball carriers effortlessly.

Cons: I am admittedly a little conflicted heading into the 2022 season on where Tuli Tuipulotu stars at the NFL level. I like his ability to stack up tackles in the run game as a base end but I don’t necessarily see the length and pass rush capabilities to consistently win off the edge. His ability to play inside is more predicated on initial quickness and penetration—he’s more effective inside as an attack defender but when he flows laterally, he will not consistently hold ground and can get bubbled off the point of attack. He could fill a role for either gap control or penetration systems but I’m just not sure he’s ready to be an every-down player in either. Tuipulotu also appears to be a fairly linear athlete in general. His transitions and suddenness when needing to drive against his momentum and redirect offer a bit of lag and leave questions about his ability to mirror as the point gets stretched.

Tuli Tuipulotu NFL Draft Scouting Report by Kyle Crabbs