Chargers News: Khalil Mack Taking This Rookie LB Under His Wing

He appreciates how quickly he's adapting to LA's culture.

There are very few defensive anchors that rookies entering the NFL could learn more from than Khalil Mack. He has forged himself quite the career thus far as he first was drafted by the Raiders and then had a stint in Chicago before becoming a member of the Los Angeles Chargers.

The main focus for the Bolts is obviously offense this coming season as we just received word that Austin Ekeler will indeed be returning and Justin Herbert will be fully recovered by the time week one kicks off.

But the Chargers's coaching staff has also made it clear that they're looking to make strides on the defensive end of the field as well and beyond just bringing in a slew of receivers from TCU, LA also drafted Tuli Tuipulotu to add to their defensive line.

USC DL—Tuli Tuipulotu has a fan in me! An athletic defender w/lateral agility & power in the run game. I expect him to be a 4-3 DE on early downs and kick inside to rush the passer.

6'3
266-270
32 1/4 arms
13 sacks#2023NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/JTZAyAytdv

— Full-Time Dame 💰 (@DP_NFL) April 8, 2023

He will have a great opportunity to see how Mack goes about his business and approaches each game to see what he could do to help his team stack up wins. Voluntary OTA's have kicked off for the Bolts this past week and a number of veterans have been in attendance.

Mack reflected on what it's like to be a mentor this season and what he thinks of Tuli thus far.

"Tuli is a quiet dude. I didn't realize that he was 20 years old. Yeah, quiet. It's strange being in this position, being so much older than these guys," Mack said with a laugh."He has a quiet demeanor, but he's a smart dude. He learns fast, has fast hands," Mack added. "It's going to be fun playing with all of these guys, especially the young dudes."

(Via Chargers)

Tuli Tuipulotu led the nation with 12.5 sacks this year, the most by a Trojan in a single season since 2003! 🇹🇴 pic.twitter.com/VrAx4w4fWm

— USC Trojans (@USC_Athletics) December 8, 2022

The Chargers have a really exciting crop of rookies to implement into their system and with Mack and other stars overseeing their development, the versatility within the roster will be off the charts.