Tuipulotu has a powerful build to play along the defensive front. He offers a pro-ready frame based on how dense he is all the way through. He showcased alignment diversity to play in different spots and fulfill different roles for multiple fronts, which should offer a firm floor for all 32 franchises in evaluating his potential fit within their personnel. 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.
Perhaps the most intriguing element of Tuipulotu’s resume is the growth he illustrated in 2022 with becoming a much better finisher. I think he flashed a closer mentality with his big splash plays in obvious passing situations—he really ramped up pressure on third downs and showcased a strong nose for the football in the backfield. His first step and fluidity looked better in 2022 as well—it appeared as though he dropped some weight off his frame to become a more functional athlete. It paid off big time and I thought he was still able to sustain a lot of his power to collapse angles while being more equipped to win off the edge, too.
The variance in his roles offers universal appeal, but depending on where he lands, I could easily see him being a firm role player or a more significant starter. It is a bit of a challenge to foresee a team threading the needle to get his best early-down version and his best passing-down version at the same time, so he may be regarded as a bit of a tweener unless he’s asked to really pick a lane and commit. 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 that isn’t power-oriented. 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. I’m not sure how he will consistently hold ground and avoid being 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.