Taliese Fuaga Is The Best Right Tackle In The 2024 Draft And Here's Why
By Peter Andrisani (The Mock Draft Guy)
I will sound like a broken record by the time the 2024 NFL Draft comes around, but this draft class is stacked with talent at the offensive tackle position. You’ve seen me talk about guys like Joe Alt, Olu Fashanu, and even Kiran Amedgadjie. But The focal point of today’s prospect profile is one of my favorites, and that’s Oregon States Taliese Fuaga.
STRENGTHS
The first thing that stands out to be about Taliese Fuaga is his frame. Fuaga has a tremendous 6’6” 334-pound frame that is filled out already for the pro game. He’s got well-dispersed thickness throughout his frame, and also great length. Fuaga also comes with a ton of experience from the right tackle position, with 25 starts, and 1,564 snaps throughout his career with the Beavers. In 2023, Fuaga played even 700 snaps, with an almost complete balance between pass protecting, and run blocking. With 351 of them being in pass protection, and 349 of them being run blocking.
That’s exactly where Fuaga has made his name at the collegiate level, being a mauler in the run game. Fuaga plays with a nasty, tone-setting demeanor, and finishes his blocks through the whistle. Fuaga moves out of his stance with good quickness and explosiveness and plays at an ideal pad height. He displays the burst to reach and cut off blockers on zone concepts. Fuaga has heavy hands that can stun defenders and stop their momentum once he’s latched.
He is a good climbing blocker to the second level and into space. Whether facing linebackers or defensive backs, he gets out quickly hunts down the target, and isn’t satisfied until he knocks someone to the ground. While Fuaga is a mauling run blocker, he’s a good pass protector as well. Fuaga uses his overall size, and arm length effectively as a pass protector. His lateral movement is efficient and effective to close the defender’s access points to the backfield. Fuaga will meet defenders at the apex of their rush with good flat back posture, and patience.
Fuaga uses light, independent hand strikes in pass protection that effectively disrupt the timing of rushers and give him a chance to recover if initially swiped, chopped, or beaten to the outside. When free in pass protection, Fuaga uses his athleticism to provide an extra thump to knock pass rushers back and clear the pocket. Fuaga is always moving, and looking for contact, and that’s something I love, it seems like he has a relentless motor.
WEAKNESSES
Now, Fuaga, like every other prospect, does come with areas that he can improve upon, and some weaknesses in his game. While Fuaga has more than enough length to manipulate pass rushers, His footwork fails him from time to time, and he finds himself reaching a little too much, creating balance issues for himself. I noticed it a lot when Fuaga has to shift to the inside, it seems like he lacks just a bit of redirection quickness to his inside, which can be easily exploited by NFL coaches and players.
Fuaga can get manipulated out of position and tends to overdrift a little bit. He tries to make up for it by oversetting, which then creates a soft inside shoulder on an island against rushers who know how to set up their moves with stutters and hesitations.
Lastly, Fuaga needs to work on keeping his outside hand placement correct. On pass sets, his outside hand tends to drift towards the middle of the chest of the defender. This slight misplacement can leave Fuaga susceptible to arm-over moves, and cross chops to his right.
SCHEME FIT
In terms of a scheme Fit for Taliese Fuaga. I will say due to his experience in a 56-44 run/pass split at Oregon State, and his proficiency in both blocking areas, Fuaga is a scheme versatile player. Fuaga also has enough polish and athleticism to kick inside to play guard if he gets drafted to a team that needs more help on the interior of the offensive line.
TEAM FITS
Here are five teams that I think could draft Taliese Fuaga in the 2024 NFL Draft:
The Tennessee Titans. The Titans can use pretty much anything on the offensive line. But Fuaga’s road grater style, mixed in with his versatility makes him a perfect match.
The New York Jets. With The Jets desperate to protect the soon-to-be 40-year-old Aaron Rodgers, they find themselves in a best Offensive lineman on-the-board scenario at Ten That’s not a bad thing when you have someone like Fuaga on the board though.
The Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders already have a stud left tackle in Kolton Miller, but their right side continues to be a problematic area. Fuaga would be an instant plug-and-play starter.
The Cincinnati Bengals. Will the quest to protect Joe Burrow ever end? With some big-time offensive line free agents coming up in the next couple of seasons, I think it would be wise to try and get ahead of the game and grab your right tackle of the future.
Finally, The Los Angeles Rams. I love what the LA Rams are doing with their offensive line. They continue to build it slowly but steadily year after year, With a couple of holes at the tackle position, Fuaga could be the missing piece.
PRO COMPARISON
My Pro Comparison For Taliese Fuaga is Penai Sewell. No, it’s not for that reason, so don’t say it. Fuaga & Sewell are two incredible athletes for the position. Both players finish blocks through the whistle and are true forces in the run game, especially in getting to the second level and beyond. While I think Sewell was the better prospect, Fuaga’s game draws a lot of similarities to the ALL-PRO. That being said, I do think Fuaga is the stronger prospect out of the two.
DRAFT POSITION
Overall, I think Taliese Fuaga is easily the third best tackle prospect in the entire class and the best right tackle prospect. His versatility and athleticism in the run game separate him from the pack. I believe he’s the best run-blocking tackle in the class. There are a lot of tackle-needy teams early on in the draft, and Fuaga’s talent is undeniable. I believe he will be selected in the Top 15 of the 2024 NFL Draft.
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