Tuli Tuipulotu has been one of the most important players for the Los Angeles Chargers this season, partially out of necessity and partially out of him seemingly taking a leap to stardom.

In 2023, Tuipulotu racked up 13.5 sacks in 14 games for the USC Trojans, leading the Chargers to draft him in the 2nd round of that year's NFL Draft. He has been an occasional starter since, piling up 13 NFL sacks over 34 games in his rookie and sophomore seasons. His 8.5 sacks last year led the team.

This year, with Khalil Mack missing time due to injury and Bud Dupree playing a smaller role, Tuipulotu has been asked to be the Chargers' first point of attack in their pass rush. His 6 sacks over 8 starts has him tied for 7th in the NFL.

With Mack's recent return, we've seen the defensive pressure get turned up, culminating in 5 sacks in Thursday night's win over the Minnesota Vikings. With both of these guys creating problems in the trenches, it's making life easier on the coverage behind them.

But the defense is no longer held up by the stars of Mack and Derwin James. Los Angeles has found, and developed, enough young talent that is starting to impact games.

Here's a look where you can see Tuipulotu playing along the middle of the defensive line, something that he's very comfortable doing as a former defensive lineman at USC:

With Khalil Mack (and Odafe Oweh) set to become free agents after this season, now would seemingly be the time for Tuipulotu to show to the Chargers coaches and front office that he has the talent to be a #1 pass rusher and secure himself a long-term, big-money contract. So far, he's making a compelling case.

For his part, Oweh has been making a similar case:

Speaking of Justin Eboigbe....

Yes, the Chargers front seven has been an obvious focus of the front office since Joe Hortiz took over and the team is really starting to reap the benefits now. That should play nicely with the offense if the line (and Omarion Hampton) ever gets healthy enough to provide a consistent attack on that side of the ball.

We'll likely see the Chargers be ultra-aggressive in shutting down the passing game of the Tennessee Titans this week, assuming they can get an early lead. The real test will be whether or not they have to adjust when they play against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 10.