There’s one tackle the New York Jets seemingly love
The NFL Draft is far away yet, but there’s one player linked heavily with Robert Saleh’s New York Jets.
According to ESPN’s Rich Cimini, Jets general manager Joe Douglas favors Oregon State right tackle Taliese Fuaga.
Apple of his eye? #Jets GM Joe Douglas has an affinity for Oregon State OT Taliese Fuaga, according to buzz in scouting circles. Has been eyeing him for months, I’m told. Fuaga is attending the Senior Bowl this week.
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) January 30, 2024
It now makes perfect sense that NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah had the Jets select Fuaga at No. 10 with Olu Fashanu still on the board. Jeremiah and Douglas worked together as scouts in Baltimore and are good friends. Jeremiah also has a solid grasp of the scouting world.
Fuaga will participate in the East-West Shrine Bowl and the Senior Bowl, giving the Jets and Jeff Ulbrich a good look at him.
Fuaga vs. Latu. Best vs. best. That’s what makes this event so fun pic.twitter.com/v45LoBSsAS
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) January 30, 2024
Right now, Fuaga is ranked as the 18th-best prospect on NFL Mock Draft Database‘s consensus big board. His most frequent projection is to go to the Green Bay Packers at No. 25. Meanwhile, the Jets are most commonly linked with Fashanu.
Still, many analysts believe that Fuaga’s stock will rise after the Shrine Bowl and NFL Combine. Last offseason, Darnell Wright was nowhere near the top 10 for most of the mock draft cycle before vaulting up draft boards. He was selected at No. 10 overall.
If Fuaga remains a mid-first-round prospect, the Jets could seek to trade down and still get their man. If they’re that enamored with Fuaga, though, they could stay put to make sure they get their man.
Tackle?
The biggest question mark about Fuaga is what his best NFL position will be. According to Joe Blewett, Fuaga will be a far better guard in the NFL. He is concerned about Fuaga against speed rushers due to a lack of elite lateral agility.
Still, Fuaga is considered a mauler in the zone-blocking scheme, which the Jets favor. Perhaps they are simply looking for the most athletic offensive linemen who fit their scheme and will choose where to play them later. If they select Fuaga, they can choose whether he or Alijah Vera-Tucker will be a better tackle and peg the other one inside as a guard.
While guard is not as important a position as tackle, fixing the offensive line with a blue-chip prospect at any spot will still be a big boon for the Jets.
