Chargers pass rusher Tuli Tuipulotu is approaching his first year as a likely full-time starter with a goal easier said than done: play like the three-time All-Pro opposite him.
Tuipulotu, 22, is set to step into the role vacated by Joey Bosa, and he's intent to make opponents feel the pressure equally on the left and right edge by taking his game to a new level.
"My standard is to play [like] Khalil (Mack). He is the standard," Tuipulotu said Friday, per the team website. "I'm doing my best so there's no drop off like, 'Khalil is here, let's slide to him.'
"We got to make it so there's two elite edge rushers on the side where we could both go and dominate, they don't know who to slide to or who to double, who to chip. He's the standard, that's what I'm chasing."
Mack, a member of the 2010s All-Decade Team with nine Pro Bowls -- including one for each of his three seasons as a Charger -- has most certainly set a standard worth chasing.
However, it's not as though Tuipulotu is unfamiliar with playing on par with his 34-year-old teammate at this stage of Mack's career, nor is he new to the starting lineup.
The 2023 second-rounder already led Los Angeles in sacks last season, tallying 2.5 more than Mack for a career-high 8.5. He's made more starts than not in each of his two campaigns, 11 in 2023 and nine in 2024, good for 20 starts in 34 games played.
Those starting nods came mostly in the wake of Bosa's injuries, which provided the young pass rusher with critical experience, but it would be understandable if going into the season tabbed a Week 1 starter after Bosa's release stirred new feelings.
Such is not the case for Tuipulotu, who is days into training camp sporting the same attitude as ever.
"I feel like every year I come into, it has to be a big year," he said. "That was my mindset coming into last year and it's going to be the same mindset coming into this year."
Tuipuloto added: "To be honest, I've been starting since my rookie year, last year and if that's my role this year, it's going to feel the same.
Approaching the game the same, day in and day out, has served Tuipulotu well thus far. A little under two months shy of his 23rd birthday, he has 13 career sacks with 29 QB hits and three forced fumbles. His production has been there since the start. Now, with a more established role, leadership has followed.
"I think he's got a great personality, he's got a great vibe to him," defensive coordinator Jesse Minter said of Tuipulotu. "Guys like being around him, guys like talking to him, guys don't mind when he speaks every once in a while.
"He's ascending into that type of role, and ultimately I just want him to be himself. If he's the best version of himself, we'll be happy with what we get out of it."
