NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen did not mince words when describing first-round draft choice Taliese Fuaga prior to making the 6-foot-6, 324-pound offensive tackle the 14th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft on Thursday.
"We're on the clock here... and we're about to draft you," Allen told Fuaga, who was in Hawaii during the draft. "I can't wait to get you here. You are a tough S.O.B. and that's what I love about you... and that's the way we're gonna play."
During the NFL Combine last month, Fuaga recorded a 5.13 40-yard dash, a 32-inch vertical jump and a 9-foot-3 broad jump – impressive numbers for a lineman his size.
"I looked at my agent and I was staring like 'Do I answer this?'," Fuaga told media after being picked. "I answered the phone and it's kinda hard holding emotions back. You know, I'm not the biggest guy in showing my emotions, but it's hard to hold back after you get a call like that.
"My thing is it ain't always about the money," he continued. "I'm trying to carry my last name to the very top."
During the post-draft media conference, Allen further referred to Fuaga as a "culture builder-type personality" who he described as a "pretty polished player" who is big, athletic and extremely physical.
The Saints entered the draft in urgent need of adding depth to a depleted offensive line that just took another critical hit earlier in the week following the retirement of 10-year veteran James Hurst.
Factoring in the uncertainty surrounding 2017 first-round selection Ryan Ramczyk and his return to right tackle from offseason knee surgery, as well as the question mark hovering over struggling 2022 first-rounder, Trevor Penning, at left tackle.
Last season, Saints quarterback Derek Carr was sacked 31 times, placing him in a tie for 14th in the NFL for the number times sacked. New Orleans also ranked 21st in the NFL in yards rushing.
If Ramczyk winds up healthy enough to resume his role as starting right tackle, Fuaga said he'd feel “pretty comfortable” at left tackle as well, having gotten a number of practice snaps at that spot during college.
“Some people like to say it's like driving on the other side of the freeway,” Fuaga said at a draft party hosted by relatives in Hawaii. “I don't really see too much of a problem. It's fresh because I haven't tested it in a live game, but I feel good on the left side.”
Fuaga also didn't dismiss the possibility of playing guard if the Saints needed him there, even though he considers it a much different position.
Fuaga said one of his chief areas of improvement in recent seasons was “trying to be a more nasty player." One of the ways he accomplished that, he said with a grin, was by adopting the psychology of Sandler's character in “The Waterboy,” a Cajun from Louisiana named Bobby Boucher.
Fuaga said he'd imagine an opposing defender was “talking about my mom, or talking about my brother.”
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