Zion Tupuola-Fetui, EDGE Washington: Offseason 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Tupuola-Fetui was a three-star recruit from Pearl City High School in Pearl City, Hawaii in the class of 2018

Washington edge rusher Zion Tupuola-Fetui dominated during the 2020 Covid-shortened season, but he struggled to stay healthy in 2021. When available, the redshirt junior is one of the nation’s most imposing pass rushers. He could develop into a first round selection in the 2023 NFL Draft.

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Zion Tupuola-Fetui, EDGE Washington: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Redshirt junior outside linebacker from Pearl City, Hawaii

Background: Tupuola-Fetui was a three-star recruit from Pearl City High School in Pearl City, Hawaii in the class of 2018. He was the No. 811 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 762 for On3.com. Tupuola-Fetui was an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 75 grade out of 100. He played tight end and along the defensive line for Pearl City. Tupuola-Fetui was invited to the 2018 Polynesian Bowl.

2021 Production: 5 games, 9 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 9 pressures, 1 sack

2020 Production: 4 games, 13 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 20 pressures, 7 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 pass defensed

2019 Production: 12 games, 9 tackles, 4 pressures

2018 Production: 2 games, 1 tackle (Redshirt Year)

Injuries & Off-Field: Missed five games in 2021 with a torn Achilles, missed two additional games in 2021 with a concussion

Awards: 2020 First-Team All-Pac-12, 2020 Third-Team All-American (Associated Press)

Pros: Heavy hands that look to diffuse the tackle’s attack, plus arm length, uses his long arms to poke the ball out of the quarterback’s hand, powerful rusher throughout his frame, his powerful hands, arm strength, and leg drive allow him to put tackles on skates, attacks inside rush lanes, hot motor/high effort player, spin counter to revive his rush and avoid getting pushed too far upfield, one-armed bull rush, coverts speed to power, frequently gets into the tackle’s pads thanks to his length and leverage, consistently wins the leverage battle, regularly incorporates swipes into his pass rush to nullify the tackle’s hands

Cons: Growing injury history, limited time spent in coverage, lacks the agility to play significant snaps in coverage, only significant special teams experience is on the field goal block unit, hands fire off a little late, sometimes late off the line, lacks the speed to consistently make plays as a backside run defender, aggressive rush leads to losing gap integrity against the run, successfully sealed inside or outside against the run too often, his hands come out low and late at times, limited linear speed, needs to show more pass rush moves and counters, mediocre bend seemed to prevent him from finishing plays (converting pressures into sacks), short-space agility is lacking, at times struggled to set a hard edge against the run

Overview: Tupuola-Fetui is unofficially listed at 6'4", 249 lbs. He applied pressure on about 21% of his pass rush attempts in 2020 and 15.5% in 2021. Tupuola-Fetui has undergone quite the physical transformation since arriving at Washington. He joined the Huskies weighing roughly 253 lbs. The Hawaii native built his way up to 280 lbs. by his breakout 2020 season but decided to cut weight and shrink down to 249 lbs., which is both his current weight and the lightest he’s weighed since joining the Huskies. Tupuola-Fetui’s game revolves around his exceptional arm length, powerful frame, and leverage as a pass rusher. He primarily wins with power, sending tackles flying backward with powerful, vicious hands or a one-armed bull rush. Tupuola-Fetui converts speed to power and used a variety of swipes to eliminate the tackle’s hands before getting into his opponent’s frame and forklifting him backward or attempting to win the edge. Tupuola-Fetui’s length helps create strip sacks as he pokes the ball out while flying past the quarterback. He has a good understanding of the pocket and knows when he’s getting too far upfield, which he counters with an inside spin move that creates space and corrects his course. There are areas for improvement in Tupuola-Fetui’s game. Despite his immense strength, the redshirt junior is an inconsistent run defender who sometimes gets moved off the line or sealed. He fails to consistently hold his position at the point of attack and sometimes loses gap integrity by aggressively moving too far upfield. Tupuola-Fetui’s hands pack tremendous power, but he often deploys them too late and too low. Calling him a limited athlete isn’t accurate, but he deals with some agility, bend, and speed limitations. These traits prevent Tupuola-Fetui from making plays as a backside run defender and cause him to leave some production on the table as he attempts to finish plays with sacks instead of pressures. 

Overall, Tupuola-Fetui’s length and power as a rusher rank among the best in the 2023 draft class. Unfortunately, his lackluster performance in run defense and injury history raise concerns. Tupuola-Fetui also lacks high-end agility, bend, and speed, which limits his ability to consistently produce at an elite level.

Role & Scheme Fit: Outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme

Round Projection: Late Second to Mid Third

Player Comparison: N/A

Submitted: 08-29-22