Khyiris

Tonga

A former seventh-round pick of the Bears back in 2021, Tonga has spent most of his career as a backup. He’s started seven of the 53 games he has appeared in and is now set to join his fourth team in five seasons. Tonga will likely serve as a rotational player in Mike Vrabel’s defense, and has been used primarily on rush downs during his career.

A seventh-rounder in 2021, Tonga was waived by the Bears after just one year. He joined the Falcons’ practice squad in 2022 but was scooped up by the Vikings midway through the season. Tonga appeared in 14 games last year and totaled 15 tackles plus one TFL. He will be a depth option for the Cardinals’ defensive line and could get some run on special teams.

The 2021 seventh-rounder was on Atlanta’s practice squad. Minnesota had an extra 53-man spot after placing Lewis Cine on injured reserve. Ross Blacklock and James Lynch have barely played in the Vikings interior rotation and Tonga might be here to push them for a job.

A versatile and athletic big man at the high school level, Tonga (6’2/325) lined up at tight end and defensive end while also playing rugby on the side. The three-star recruit had initially committed to Utah before following their DC Kalani Sitake to BYU when he got the head coach job. As is the case with many Cougars players, he went on a mission to Wichita, Kan. before his freshman season and as a result is almost 25 years old. Tonga has the brute strength and hands to push the pocket but not a lot of nuance to his pass rush. He has moments of absolute dominance but has trouble stringing together that level of play. Tonga swallows double teams and is a handful to block one-on-one, but his steps are choppy and he is slow footed in pursuit. Tonga’s shuttle time of 4.73 seconds and 3-Cone of 7.83 were below average, but not terrible. Athletically, his 7.22 RAS shows that he possesses sufficient traits to eventually compete for an an early-down rotational role as a nose tackle.

Nothing set in stone, here, but Tonga is viewing the upcoming season as potentially his final opportunity to put out quality tape for evaluators. He has been focusing on cutting weight this offseason and told reporters during the program media day on Tuesday that he had shed 20 pounds to drop down to 324 pounds. The 6-foot-4 junior would like to get down to 319 pounds before the start of August camp. This past season, Tonga logged 30 tackles (4.5 for loss) and two sacks.