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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