Why Taliese Fuaga was a 'bread and butter' pick for Saints at No. 14

As it turned out, the New Orleans Saints probably could have turned in their first-round draft pick in February.

Sure, there were a few couple mild surprises on draft night, and coach Dennis Allen acknowledged there was “certainly some discussion” that occurred in the Saints’ draft room when tight end Brock Bowers lasted until the 13th pick.

But the Saints knew very early in the draft process Oregon State offensive tackle Taliese Fuaga was their kind of guy. And they knew very early in the process there was a good chance they’d be targeting an offensive tackle based on how big their need was and how deep this class was.

“Fortunate for us, it’s not all too often that the depth of draft and the position of need really (align). But this happened to be a year that it married up for us,” Allen said after the Saints drafted Fuaga with the 14th pick Thursday night.

Saints get the player they desperately needed in Taliese FuagaThe Dot presented by Matt Bowers Auto Group pic.twitter.com/kPDY1asO6A— NOF (@nofnetwork) April 26, 2024

Fuaga said he was a bit surprised since the Saints hadn’t been in frequent contact with him in the weeks leading up to the draft. But Allen explained that they reached a conviction very early on the 6-foot-6, 324-pounder, who started the past two years at right tackle for the Beavers.

“When you identify somebody early on that everybody in your building loves on tape, then you get a chance to go and see him at the combine, and you interview him, and you get a chance to talk to him and feel comfortable with the mental and the learning ability … you feel pretty confident you’ve found a guy that fits your culture,” said Allen, who raved about Fuaga’s maturity and confidence.

“He’s big, he’s athletic, he’s extremely physical. I think he’s a culture-builder type of personality,” Allen said. “Obviously we liked what we saw on the tape. Then we sat down and had an interview with him at the combine and really fell in love with him.”

The Saints didn’t get complete tunnel vision on Fuaga — or the offensive tackle position in general, however.

They stayed put at No. 14, resisting their usual urge to trade up in the draft. Mostly because they felt good about the depth of the top four offensive tackles in this year’s class (Joe Alt went No. 5, JC Latham No. 7 and Olu Fashanu No. 11). But also because they knew elite options would fall at other positions based on the expected run on QBs, WRs and OTs in the top 10.

There was an alternate universe where Bowers or a defensive lineman like Laiatu Latu or Dallas Turner could have been the pick instead.

“Did I go into this thinking, ‘Hey there’s a good chance we take a tackle at No. 14 and would feel really good about it?’ Yes. Did I feel like, ‘We had to take a tackle or else?’ No. Because there were some other good players,” Allen said. “Then as you watch the draft happen (with six QBs going in the top 12 picks), you feel a little bit more confident they’re gonna be there.”

Inside the Saints War Room for the pick of @Taliese1 ⚜️📞#SaintsDraft | @BeaverFootball | @CoxComm pic.twitter.com/m1r9H1RDnq— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) April 26, 2024

Out of those big four offensive tackles, Nick broke down why Fuaga might have one of the highest floors of the bunch — if not necessarily the highest ceiling. It’s easy to project him plugging into the starting lineup right away at his familiar RT spot with Ryan Ramczyk’s knee injury leaving his football future uncertain. And Fuaga had the most experience of any of the top rookie OTs in the wide-zone scheme New Orleans is expected to feature heavily under new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.

“Our bread and butter at Oregon State was wide zone,” said Fuaga, who repeatedly credited former Beavers offensive line coach and run game coordinator Jim Michalczik for mentoring him in college. “We were, I think, kind of known for that, hopefully. But we did that basically every game, wide zone.”

Fuaga said he thinks his perception took a big leap during the 2023 season when he performed well in a marquee matchup against UCLA edge rusher Latu, who wound up being drafted by Indianapolis one pick later at No. 15 overall (the first defensive player drafted Thursday night).

Then Fuaga and Latu both went to the Senior Bowl in Mobile in January as the headliners and lived up to the hype. Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy raved about that same “healthy confidence” Allen and the Saints saw in Fuaga.

“He knows he’s good. He came down to Mobile and knew he was one of the best guys down here, and he wasn’t afraid of it,” Nagy said. “You can see him in his stance, frankly, and the power angles he comes off with, and then just the agility he comes off with in the second level and keeps a wide base, and he can recover …

“They drafted a guy who’s gonna be a Day 1 starter. Slam dunk. So I think he’s gonna be a Pro Bowl-level player. I think that’s why you take a guy up there as high as they did. And he played at a good level. There’s not a lot of projection to Taliese. He’s played really good football.”

Allen said like most of the rookie tackles, Fuaga is probably a little further ahead as a run blocker than a pass protector at this stage, though he said he sees him as “polished” all around. And Fuaga allowed zero sacks in college.

Allen didn’t commit to starting Fuaga at right tackle over left tackle, since it remains to be seen who else the Saints add through the draft and the late wave of free agency. But Allen said they definitely see him as a tackle and not a guard.

Who should Saints select at pick 45? pic.twitter.com/rhcvRHwu33— NOF (@nofnetwork) April 26, 2024

Fuaga, who grew up in Washington but celebrated the draft with his extended family in Hawaii, said he developed his toughness and grit at a young age — when he was in kindergarten and first grade and his dad “just threw us in with the fourth-graders.”

But Fuaga said he continued to develop as a “nasty” player last year, moving guys off the ball. And for that, he actually turned to Louisiana for inspiration.

“You guys ever watch ‘The Waterboy?’” Fuaga said of the Adam Sandler comedy set in the bayou. “You imagine this guy’s talking about my mom or he’s talking about my brothers.”

Apparently, it worked. Because Allen’s first words when he got Fuaga on the phone after he was drafted Thursday night were, “You’re a tough S.O.B., and that’s what I love about you. And that’s the way we’re gonna play.”