Taliese

Fuaga

Saints News Network reporter John Hendrix reports Dennis Allen expects Fuaga should be fine for Week 1. This remains a situation to monitor closely though after the team lost stalwart RT Ryan Ramczyk (knee) for the season back in July.

Fuaga will be tasked with turning around an offensive line that PFF graded as the seventh-worst pass-blocking line in the league last season. Saints head coach Dennis Allen said after the team drafted Fuaga that he could eventually move to left tackle, but didn’t say whether or not that would be the plan for him early on. Fuaga never took a snap at left tackle during his time at Oregon State which could make for a steep learning curve if he were to eventually make the switch. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him get reps at both tackle positions in camp before the team ultimately decides where he’ll open the year.

Coming out of Tacoma High School in 2020, Fuaga (6’6/324) was barely recruited by Power Five programs, as is evidenced by his 82 player rating from 247Sports, which is a low three-star caliber prospect grade. Solely a RT for the duration of his college tenure at OSU, he played only sparingly until 2022 when Fuaga earned an 80.4 PFF offensive grade over 810 snaps while allowing 11 pressure and zero sacks. The Second Team All-Pac-12 RT entered 2023 with confidence and it showed, as he solidified himself as an elite mauler by leading the nation with a 91st percentile run block grade to go with a microscopic 0.6% blown run block rate. While Fuaga is at his best when clearing a path for Beavers RB Damien Martinez, there is still work to be done with his pass sets. Despite him not allowing a single sack in his Oregon State career, his 80th percentile pass block grade ranked 37th nationally. While Fuaga is nearly impossible to defeat with power thanks to his noticeably wide frame and tree trunk lower half, he had difficulty staying in front of technically refined rushers like Washington’s Bralon Trice who could maneuver around the mammoth tackle. His 93rd percentile 32” vertical and 90th percentile 9’03 broad jump were both incredible marks, as was his 1.77s 10-yard split (83rd%) which illustrates the advanced movement skills he brings to the run game. He explodes off the ball and quickly climbs to the second-level hunting for prey and crushing anything in his wake. Toss in a pair of vice grip-like 10.125” hands to complete Fuaga’s 9.60 RAS, and you’ve got a powerful RT with balance, lateral agility and an enticing all-around NFL-ready profile. He’ll join a New Orleans offensive line graded by PFF as last year’s seventh worst pass blocking unit.