The New Orleans Saints have not been the same elite drafting team that they once used to be, but their 2024 first round pick is turning out to be a good one near the end of his rookie season.
Pro Football Focus‘ Dalton Wasserman has been keeping track of how every first round pick from the 2024 NFL draft has done this season, and Saints rookie tackle Taliese Fuaga stacks up well against his peers.
Fuaga currently ranks fourth out of 12 rookie tackles this year with a 65.7 PFF grade. Los Angeles Chargers first round pick Joe Alt has lived up to the hype and is by far in the lead of the group with a 78.5 grade. Tennessee Titans tackle Matt Gonclaves and Roger Rosengarten of the Baltimore Ravens are the other two head of the New Orleans rookie.
Here is what Wasserman had to say about Fuaga’s efforts last week against the Green Bay Packers:
“Fuaga earned a career-high 90.0 PFF run-blocking grade against the Packers on Monday Night Football, but it was all for naught in his team’s rough 34-0 loss. He did allow six quarterback pressures, which muddied his final PFF game grade.”
The 22-year-old has allowed 37 pressures in 562 pass blocking snaps this season. He’s been slightly better blocking on the run. It is a solid rookie year given that it is his first season at left tackle, having lined up exclusively on the right side in college. The Saints could either build around him there on the line or switch him back to the right side depending on how the draft plays out.
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