Tag: all rookie team

Taliese Fuaga snubbed of an PFWA All-Rookie Team appearance

New Orleans Saints left tackle Taliese Fuaga was snubbed from the PFWA 2024 All-Rookie team in favor of two right tackles:

The Professional Football Writers of America completed their yearly All-Rookie teams and awards recently, and with that, we got to see who they believed were the best first-year players at each position. The New Orleans Saints did not particularly have many candidates as most of their rookies either got less than a full season of playing time or none at all, however, Taliese Fuaga and Kool-Aid McKinstry broke that mold.

Considering McKinstry played in 14 of the 17 games, it is hard to make an argument for him despite having a very solid season. His development was rapid and as he got thrown into the fire, he was able to become one of the more solid pieces from a Saints rookie class we had seen in awhile.

Taliese Fuaga on the other hand did play in all 17 games, starting every single one, and in that time frame played in 1,071 snaps (98%). His season was not perfect, allowing 6 sacks and 39 pressures which is good for a 96.3% blocking efficiency rate. In addition he had 10 penalties spread out pretty evenly across the season.

In comparison to Joe Alt and Roger Rosengarten he was relatively similar statistically, however you also have to factor in the fact that for most of the season, Fuaga played without multiple of the other starters along the line. Erik McCoy missed most of the year, Lucas Patrick missed time mid-season, as did Cesar Ruiz. The only one who didn’t miss time was Trevor Penning, who was on the complete opposite side and could not particularly help the rookie in blocking the left side.

Comparatively, Rosengarten had Ronnie Stanley for the full season across from him as a mentor, Daniel Faalele right next to him at guard all season who had an absolutely outstanding year (1 sack allowed, 33 pressures allowed, 6 penalties), Tyler Linderbaum every game at center who was even better (0 sacks allowed, 19 pressures allowed, 10 penalties) and Patrick Mekari at the opposite guard spot who despite substantial penalties (12) only gave up 1 sack and 32 pressures.

As for Joe Alt? He had Pro Bowl right tackle Rashawn Slater for 15 games and a quality season from center Bradley Bozeman (4 sacks allowed, 30 pressures allowed, 4 penalties). Credit where it is due though, both guards on his team struggled immensely, and he picked up the slack on the right side with Trey Pipkens.

The talent around you as a rookie can make or break your season, as having quality players taking some of the pressure off of you can make learning the game and processing the defense a little bit easier. Fuaga had little to none of that, which is what makes his rookie season so impressive, as much of the time he was out there with the second and third stringers, or even practice squad players at many points.

With that said, here is the full PWFA All-Rookie team selections for each position:

Offense

QB – Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders
RB – Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Tyrone Tracy Jr., New York Giants
WR – Malik Nabers, New York Giants; Brian Thomas Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars
TE – Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders
C – Zach Frazier, Pittsburgh Steelers
G – Jackson Powers-Johnson, Las Vegas Raiders; Dominick Puni, San Francisco 49ers
T – Joe Alt, Los Angeles Chargers; Roger Rosengarten, Baltimore Ravens

Defense

DL – Jonah Elliss, Denver Broncos; Braden Fiske, Los Angeles Rams; Laiatu Latu, Indianapolis Colts; T’Vondre Sweat, Tennessee Titans
LB – Edgerrin Cooper, Green Bay Packers; Chop Robinson, Miami Dolphins; Jared Verse, Los Angeles Rams
CB – Cooper DeJean, Philadelphia Eagles; Quinyon Mitchell, Philadelphia Eagles
S – Calen Bullock, Houston Texans; Evan Williams, Green Bay Packers

Special Teams
PK – Cam Little, Jacksonville Jaguars
P – Ryan Rehkow, Cincinnati Bengals
KR – Jordan Whittington, Los Angeles Rams
PR – Brandon Codrington, Buffalo Bills
ST – Sione Vaki, Detroit Lions

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Saints’ draft picks shut out on NFL.com’s 2024 All-Rookie Team

The Saints were blanked on the NFL.com 2024 All-Rookie Team. Taliese Fuaga was their most likely candidate, but he was passed in favor of JC Latham:

Despite having a well graded NFL draft, the New Orleans Saints had no 2024 draft picks make it to the NFL.com All-Rookie team, offensively or defensively. If there was one player who could have made it on this list, it was first-round pick Taliese Fuaga.

Fuaga comes in as one of the best players at his position, but that position was deep and headlined by star players. Four offensive tackles were selected in the first 15 picks. Only quarterback had more players selected in that range.

Joe Alt moving to right tackle for the Chargers opened the for Fuaga to make this team. Alt was the one lock. Unfortunately, NFL.com’s Chad Reuter went with fellow top-10 pick JC Latham, who is making the switch to left tackle similar to Fuaga.

After Fuaga, the draft class is littered with players whose greatest impact will likely be after Year 1. Kool-Aid McKinstry could be a Week 1 starter for this team next season. That likely only happens this year due to injury.

Khristian Boyd is the next draft pick who could make an impact as a rookie, but he shouldn’t be predicted to make the All-Rookie Team. The Bub Means and Spencer Rattler hype trains are rolling but they do sit low on the depth chart at their respective positions. The Saints figure to get a strong first-year impact from their rookie draft class, but other teams will be leaning on their rookies harder. That’s a ripple effect of the Saints lacking their third- and fourth-round picks this year.

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No Saints were selected for NFL.com’s All-Rookie Team watch list

No New Orleans Saints players were selected for this All-Rookie Team watch list, which features a puzzling snub for RB Kendre Miller | @DillySanders @crissy_froyd

There are some exciting New Orleans Saints rookies with the chance to make an immediate impact in 2023, but it seems that they’re being overlooked around the country. When Chad Reuter of NFL.com released his All-Rookie Team watch list for the 2023 draft class, it did not include a single member of the Saints.

Bryan Bresee and Isaiah Foskey were both skipped over for the four defensive line spots despite being in line for a lot of playing time off the jump. The one defensive tackle, Jalen Carter, is joining a very busy defensive line with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Houston Texans No. 2 pick Will Anderson being chosen for the defensive ends is very understandable and obvious, but Reuter selected BJ Ojulari and Lukas Van Ness over Foskey. Foskey is a pro-ready defensive end that will come in and have an important role in the Saints pass rush unit; Ojulari will have the snaps but is further away from a finished product. Van Ness is also more of a potential player, coming in younger and with less experience than the rest of the guys.

On the offensive side, Reuter selected Los Angeles Rams sixth-round rookie Zach Evans at running back. Kendre Miller pushed Evans out of the running back rotation at TCU and was drafted three rounds earlier but Reuter still likes Evans better. To be fair, Evans has Cam Akers as his only competition which is a nod in his direction. But with Alvin Kamara’s possible suspension and Miller having a much better team around him, it’s hard not to imagine Miller making a case for All-Rookie recognition by year’s end.

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Raiders G Dylan Parham named to SIS All Rookie 2nd team

Dylan Parham recognized for his work at LG for the Raiders this season. He has been named to SIS All Rookie 2nd team

With no picks until the third round for the Raiders, and only one rookie starter this past season, they didn’t have a lot of players who were really eligible for rookie honors. But that one rookie starter has just earned a mention.

Third round guard Dylan Parham has been named an All Rookie second teamer by Sports Info Solutions.

Parham started every game for the Raiders this season. The first four starts he split time between center and right guard before settling in to start at left guard the remainder of the season.

He played his best in run blocking, helping Josh Jacobs to take the rushing title this season. While his main concerns were as a pass blocker.

Though bouncing around to every interior line spot throughout the offseason, preseason and the start of the season likely didn’t help him to find his footing at the position, he played his best football over the latter half of the season.

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Notre Dame in the NFL: Tranquill Named to PFWA All-Rookie Team

Wednesday the Pro Football Writers Association released their All-Rookie Team and Tranquill was named to it as the Special Teams Specialist.

It’s fitting that Drue Tranquill is making an impact on special teams his first year in the NFL as the first memory most Notre Dame fans have of him is a blocked punt he had against Stanford in his freshman year of 2014.

Tranquill went on to become a captain and a huge reason Notre Dame’s defense was lights-out in 2018, helping guide them to a 12-0 regular season.

Tranquill was drafted in fourth round of last year’s NFL Draft to the Los Angeles Chargers and has already turned heads across the league for his play there.

Wednesday the Pro Football Writers Association released their All-Rookie Team and Tranquill was named to it as the Special Teams Specialist.

Tranquill was the only Notre Dame product named to the team and finished 2019 with 71 tackles between special teams and on defense for the Chargers.