Who is Taliese Fuaga?

What to know about the new Saints OT.

Amid all of the chaos that was round one in the 2024 NFL Draft, the New Orleans Saints remained unscathed. They took Oregon State offensive tackle Taliese Fuaga, and that’s something that deserves a real celebration.

Fuaga fills a need for the Saints, one that became even more urgent than before with the retirement of James Hurst. The 6-foot-6, 324-pound Samoan can find a real home over on the bayou.

Fuaga was with the Oregon State Beavers for three-years, playing in a total of 28 games. In those games he would play in 1,565 snaps – all at right tackle- and allowed zero sacks. This past season, Fuaga was named first-team All-American and first-team All-PAC-12. He was also a team captain in 2023, something that holds a lot of value with the Saints organization.

After the night’s festivities were over, head coach Dennis Allen met with the media. He expressed that his character was another part of his game that the team loves.

“I think he was one of the more mature people we talked to,” Allen said, “I think he’s a grown man, and I think that’s good thing for that position.”

It’ll be interesting to see what his exact role will be for the Saints. Because while he’s played right tackle exclusively, the team believes that he would be able to move over to the left side of the line if needed. I don’t know how likely that is to happen because the Saints still have confidence in Trevor Penning, and second-year offensive lineman Nick Saldiveri will be more likely to help out on the left side of the line. Either way, Fuaga will be an absolute beast in the trenches.