Five things to know about Taliese Fuaga

The Saints made the right pick in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

With their first pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the New Orleans Saints selected Taliese Fuaga, OT out of Oregon State. He was one of the top offensive tackles on the board heading into the draft, and the Saints didn’t even need to trade up to get him.

Here are five things you need to know about the newest Saints offensive tackle:

1. He never allowed a sack in his career

I know the broadcast said that he allowed one sack in his career, but according to PFF College, in his 1,500+ snaps, Fuaga never allowed a single sack.

Fuaga played just 55 snaps his redshirt freshman year, but in his sophomore and junior campaigns, Fuaga played 700+ each season. In 734 career pass blocking snaps, Fuaga was credited with zero sacks and just 23 pressures allowed.

2. He only played RT at Oregon State

To be exact, Fuaga played 1,565 snaps in his college career, all of which came at right tackle. Obviously, the Saints have a need at both tackle positions with Ryan Ramcyzk’s injury and Trevor Penning’s lackluster beginning to his career, but it’ll be interesting to see if the Saints keep him at RT or try to transition him to the left side.

3. He’s an elite run blocker

Yes, Fuaga is a very good pass blocker, but he might be an even better run blocker. He played 349 run blocking snaps in 2023 and recorded the highest run blocking grade (90.9) of any offensive tackle in college football according to PFF.

I know PFF doesn’t tell the whole story, but it’s mighty impressive when you see that the next closest tackle with 50+ snaps was Joe Alt with a 86.5. The Saints need to find ways to get their run game going more with Klint Kubiak as OC, and Fuaga should provide a lot of help in that department.

4. He is massive

If you couldn’t tell by looking at his picture, Fuaga is absolutely massive, weighing in at 6-foot-6, 334-pounds. He’s not the biggest offensive tackle in the NFL, that award goes to Daniel Faalele who’s 6-foot-9, 380-pounds, but he’s bigger than Trent Williams who looks like a monster at LT for the 49ers.

Obviously, size is only good if he can still move well, but from the tape I’ve watched and the scouting reports I’ve read about him, that doesn’t seem to be an issue.

5. He is NOT a project player

The Saints made a sensible pick on the offensive line that shouldn’t take multiple years of playing time and practice before he can start.

Fuaga is still very young, so he has a lot of room to grow as a player, but he is more than talented enough to start right away if needed. If Ramczyk’s knee is okay heading into the season, he may not start immediately, but I think he’s going to be hard to keep off the field as a rookie.