Saints draft Taliese Fuaga How do you like the pick? (1 Viewer)

[faceman]

Willie Roaf played RT his first year.

It's also not uncommon for centers to play guard during their rookie seasons. Hof'er Dermonti Dawson was one.
Former Saint LeCharles Bentley was another.

 

[faceman]

NOFALCONS shared this with me on Twitter. Two of the best going at it.

Didn't realize Fuaga will have the shortest arms of any tackle if he stays there. Hopefully that won't be a problem. I'm still very high on him.

Mike D. adressed rhis earlier. He said it's where you place your arms,not how long they are. Trevor Penning
has long arms and we all saw how much he struggled last year.

 

[SigFreudianSlip]

Mike D. adressed rhis earlier. He said it's where you place your arms,not how long they are. Trevor Penning
has long arms and we all saw how much he struggled last year.

That makes me feel even better. I trust Mike D.

Here's DA's presser on Fuaga:

 

[NatureBoy]

Just listened to his first NOLA media interview. Really like the kid. He's exactly what DA said he was, he's a guys guy. Fun to talk to, has a sense of maturity and a great attitude. While the pick isn't sexy, I love the fact that we have a guy with a good head on his shoulders, who plays tough and just might contribute at a high level for a long time. As much as I loved the idea of Bowers or Odunze falling, and some of the defenders that were on the board for us, I like this pick a lot.

 

[SigFreudianSlip]

Just listened to his first NOLA media interview. Really like the kid. He's exactly what DA said he was, he's a guys guy. Fun to talk to, has a sense of maturity and a great attitude. While the pick isn't sexy, I love the fact that we have a guy with a good head on his shoulders, who plays tough and just might contribute at a high level for a long time. As much as I loved the idea of Bowers or Odunze falling, and some of the defenders that were on the board for us, I like this pick a lot.

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I also enjoyed this interview. This guy is tough as nails and WANTS to play. He's gonna be a good one. Senior Bowl director Jim Nagy on Fuaga.

 

[Artifactual]

It's also not uncommon for centers to play guard during their rookie seasons. Hof'er Dermonti Dawson was one.
Former Saint LeCharles Bentley was another.

To add to your point, most expected Cesar Ruiz to come in and start a center with McCoy moving to guard but instead McCoy has anchored the center position, and other than when injured has maintained the starter there, whereas Ruiz was moved to guard day one and has played there other than when McCoy has been injured.

On the thread topic, it appears as though the Saints picked the BPA who projects as a day one starter in the biggest position of need. Therefore, I like it.

 

[SigFreudianSlip]

Taliese Fuaga Draft and Combine Prospect Profile | NFL.com

All Combine and Draft-Related Analysis, News, Video, and Biographical Information for Taliese Fuaga

www.nfl.com

Strengths​

• Glides into pass sets with controlled slides, ready hands and quiet upper body.
• Throws stiff right-left combinations, creating disruption for rusher.
• Hands are highly active through the rush, helping to keep opponent centered.
• Mirrors with fluidity, with little to no stall when changing direction.
• Flashes ability to dig in with leveraged hand strikes at point of attack.
• Gathers and adjusts his track to make his blocks in space.
• Smooth and accurate when working from block to block.

Weaknesses​

• Pops up tall off the snap and gets behind in back-side cutoffs.
• On first contact, tends to hit and bounce rather than hit and stick.
• His run blocking is much less organized and technical than his pass blocking.
• Doesn’t have the range in pass sets to succeed when tardy out of his stance.
• Occasional issues allowing weight to slide too far out on outside foot.
• Washington had some success beating his outside hand and trimming the edge.

Sources Tell Us​

“I see him as a very good starting guard. I think you might need to help him against edge speed if he stays at tackle.” - NFC West Coast scout

 

[Kegger]

Some evaluators say he’s a guard. Hope they’re wrong.

If he's a 10 year starter at G for us, I won't be sad

 

[Bayouboy]

Love the pick, but Dallas Turner was sitting there. We made a pick based on need, not BPA. To be fair, more than one team did the same.

 

[Boy_of_wonder75]

Hes a very good, Day One starter but, Caliente, he's an Option B choice. He wouldn't be getting on a plane soon to come to New Orleans if Brock Bowers hadn't been picked by LV Raiders just one pick before and most Saints fans, on SR and along the Gulf Coast, were hoping, desperately praying he'd still be there when we finally got on the clock.

I think Saints FO were all-in to Bowers if he was available and for a few moments, they likely thought he would be until Raiders swooped in and broke our hearts. I think the long, drawn-out waiting period until the #14 pick was sent in was our FO and coaching staff scrambling to find a decent, "Option B" candidate.

I'm glad we chose this guy and he'll likely be a far better OL then that terrible bust Pfenning has been, but some sliver of me believes and I think Taliese will pick up this sentiment too in minicamps OTA's, and then training camp later this summer, that he was our fallback option, Option B instead of that great, two-time Mackey Award winning All-American TE, Brock Bowers. When Las Vegas announced their decision to select Bowers at #13, its a good guess to suggest most of the air went flat in Saints war room at Airline Drive.

How is it a "good" guess?

Ok, *this* is pushing a narrative.

 

[Boy_of_wonder75]

I agree, Taliese is a great pick and will do wonders for our O-line, boss. HR was the best option of what we had to choose from that was left available and I support getting him then allowing a bust like Pfenning hanging around one season.

But, it might come across as a painful, unpopular truth that he still wasnt the guy we really, REALLY wanted. The guy we we're salivating over got sniped from us by a ugly, orange, Pumpkin-headed clown owner who's not even 10% of the same vigor, courage, intellegence, or bravado his legendary father brought to the table for 50 years.

It's an unpopular thing to say but Brock Bowers is who the Saints really wanted in their heart of hearts. I know I'll get blasted, face-palmed, Clown Goodelled, or Dead-Falconed for saying this but it doesn't mean I'm wrong or don't have some sliver of truth here tonight in my comments.

Prove it.

 

[Kegger]

Love the pick, but Dallas Turner was sitting there. We made a pick based on need, not BPA. To be fair, more than one team did the same.

Turner would have been about the same as Baun or Ellis in our D, maybe slightly better. Glad we didn't draft him.

 

[Snakehead]

Dude has over 10" hands. That is awesome for an O-lineman, well large hands is good for pretty much any position on the field, but especially O-line.

 

[saintsmarchin]

One OT that's had deteriorating issues
One OT that's raw as all he'll
One guard/OT that has a bo bo 2 or 3 times a year.
I understand the why here.
I understand the quality of the player as well.
I give the pick a A-

Day 2 is where our draft will be a W or a L.
We need to make our moves in this round

 

[jboss]

That makes me feel even better. I trust Mike D.

Here's DA's presser on Fuaga:

Glad to hear DA say he's gonna stay at tackle. Also nice to know he obviously can move inside if need be, but it's really great to basically get confirmation we're gonna leep him at tackle.