How Taliese Fuaga has earned his teammates trust only two game into his rookie season

It has become popular to categorize Gen-Zers as lazy and unfocused, but 22-year-old Taliese Fuaga serves as an outlier to that stigma with his level of preparation and endurance.

After reaggravating a back injury from training camp earlier this week in practice, it was unknown if the Saints were going to have their starting left tackle against fearsome Dallas Cowboys pass rusher Micah Parsons and the rest of their stout defense.

Fuaga tested out the injury before the game, rehabbed throughout the week and managed to not only take the field, but play a relatively clean game.

“He went out and competed and played really well,” quarterback Derek Carr said. “To see that from a rookie, in his second game, against a really good defense and football team — it says a lot about him, and our teammates should be really thankful that he’s on our football team.”

Fuaga was the lead blocker on three of Kamara’s four touchdowns. He walled off Cowboys linebacker Marist Liufau on Kamara’s 57-yard touchdown reception, stood up Micah Parsons on his 12-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, and later pancaked Parsons on Kamara’s final 7-yard touchdown run.

Fuaga credits his off-the-field preparation with helping him be successful today.

“Just tried to stay locked in into the playbook and the scheme we had going throughout the week,” Fuaga said. “Michah Parsons is a great player. I just had to try my best against him. Try to do what I do and trust myself. I think we did a good job today.”

The offensive line as a whole met the challenge in Dallas today, the Saints had 190 net rushing yards against a defense that only allowed 93 last week against the Cleveland Browns. The only sack the Cowboys had came when Carr tried to run for a gain but stepped out of bounds before reaching the sticks. Pressure appeared to be at a minimum.

“It’s unbelievable man, we have great players on this team,” Fuaga said. “The scheme is great. These guys are scoring left and right. I’m happy to see it. The faster we get off the field and score a touchdown that’s a win for us. It’s a great time.

Guard Cesar Ruiz added: “It’s great to go out there and execute how we executed. You don’t get too high on these. We have a long season in front of us, you build off these. That’s what keeps us going.”

Ruiz a previous first-round pick who was thrown into the fire early in his career, feels that Fuaga is ahead of schedule with his level of dedication and hardwork.

“He comes in and works,” Ruiz said. “He does whatever it takes for this team. He’s dedicated to us and this entire team. Love that guy man, extremely proud of him…It’s not easy to find that type of work ethic, especially at his level, we are blessed to have him.”

Fuaga looks to continue to build on his impressive early showings and lock in for the remaining 15 games this season and possibly beyond.

“I feel like I’m getting better and better every day,” Fuaga said. “Tight back but every day I just have to get a little bit better. Stay in the training room and just stay locked in for the whole season.”

It’s too early to say if Fuaga will evolve into the next great Saints offensive lineman like Ryan Ramczyk or Terron Armstead, but being a key contributor on 44- and 47-point performances in the first two weeks of the season with no sacks allowed is a good starting point.