Taliese Fuaga has been linked with the New York Jets in recent mock drafts
If the New York Jets are going to take a tackle in the first round of the draft, then looking at the most likely tackles is the way to go. Joe Alt and Olu Fashanu seem to be the consensus top two tackles to many prognosticators, but there has been some controversy surrounding Fashanu lately.
Rather than turning to J.C. Latham, ranked by many to be the third-best tackle prospect, Taliese Fuaga has started to gain traction as a possible Jets draft pick. Daniel Jeremiah mocked Fuaga to the Jets with Fashanu still on the board.
Let’s go through Fuaga’s profile and assess whether he is a viable Jets draft prospect.
Jets Draft Scouting Report series:
- Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame
- J.C. Latham, OT, Alabama
- Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia
- Rome Odunze, WR, Washington
- Olu Fashanu, OT, Penn State
Bio
According to his page on the Oregon State website, Fuaga’s full name is pronounced “Tall-ee-s-a Foo-ah-gah.” He was a two-year starter at Oregon State. He was named AP second-team All-Pac-12 in 2022 and a second-team All-American in 2023.
Fuaga stands at 6-foot-6 and 334 pounds.
Numbers
Fuaga’s 3.4% pressure rate ranked 39th out of 199 qualified FBS tackles (min. 350 pass-block snaps). He did not allow any sacks, though, tying for first. His 4.5% true pass set pressure rate ranked 20th. (True pass sets are pass plays with a dropback time between 2-4 seconds, no screen or play-action, and at least 4 pass rushers.)
When adjusting for an FBS average rate of true pass sets, Fuaga’s pressure rank rises to 37th. With a pro-adjusted true pass set rate, his pressure rate rank rises to 30th.
Of the 12 pressures Fuaga allowed in 2023, none were sacks and two were quarterback hits, giving him a 16.7% rate of highly impactful pressures allowed. The FBS average for tackles was 29%, as was the NFL average. Fuaga did a good job of keeping his quarterback upright, even when he allowed pressure.
As a run-blocker, Fuaga led all FBS tackles with a 90.9 Pro Football Focus grade. That included a 91.3 zone-blocking grade (1st) and a 78.9 gap-blocking grade (3rd). He was a much more zone-heavy blocker than gap, blocking in zone 61.3% of the time compared to just 27.5% in gap. Statistically, that would seem like a perfect fit for the Jets — a dominant zone run-blocker.
Summary
Joe Blewett said that he thinks Fuaga could be a really good guard at the NFL level more so than a tackle. He added that Fuaga’s lateral quickness is not elite, but he moves well vertically in space.
Fuaga’s lesser pass-blocking statistics compared to the other tackle prospects despite playing an easier schedule is somewhat concerning. Overall, he is known as a better run-blocker than pass-blocker, which is not ideal for what the Jets are seeking.
Still, compared to Fashanu, Fuaga seems to be a more pro-ready player. If the Jets have a choice between the two, it seems they’d be more likely to go with Fuaga due to his success as a zone blocker in college. That is likely why Jeremiah mocked him to the Jets over Fashanu.
