Taliese Fuaga scouting report: Exploring the Oregon State OT's strengths and weaknesses

A three-star recruit in 2020, Taliese Fuaga saw action in four games as a true freshman (retaining his redshirting) and then 10 the following season as a backup. In 2022 he took over the right tackle gig (started all 13 contests) and earned second-team All-Pac-12 accolades.

This past season, he improved to first-team all-conference and was a second-team All-American as a 12-game starter for the Beavers. He started all 12 contests he was available for this past year and repeated those honors.

Taliese Fuaga scouting report

Run-blocking:

• An absolute mauler in the run game, who erases space quickly, latches into defenders and takes them for a ride with regularity
• Capable of blowing the B-gap wide open on the front side by driving edge defenders toward the sideline
• Has such an insanely strong inside hand when being engaged with edge defenders on the front side of zone concepts and they’re trying to stay square, yet he delivers force and pushes them toward his outside hip
• You regularly see Fuaga ride somebody from the backside past the center and five yards down the field, which creates massive cutback lanes
• Helps provide plenty of vertical displacement with his guard on “duo” concepts, whilst staying ready to get a piece of the linebacker trying to circle around them
• With this mountain of a man, it looks like he’s tossing around some kids at times when he gets his hands on bodies at the second level
• Routinely adds in a shove at the end of reps to put defenders on the ground
• For as massive as this guy is, his ability to cover ground on perimeter-oriented plays and screens, along with the body control to put himself in position to wall off bodies in space stands out
• Received the highest PFF run-blocking grade among all FBS tackles in 2023 (90.9)

Pass-protection:

• Consistently gets a good jump off the snap in pass-pro to gain necessary depth whilst keeping his shoulders square to the line of scrimmage
• Operates with a very well-coordinated kick-slide and can frame rushers appropriately
• When Fuaga hits guys straight in the chest, he completely stuns them and transitions to a more reactionary mode
• Truly ingests power-rush attempts and makes those defenders irrelevant, not only based on raw strength but also on how well he gets all his cleats in the ground to anchor
• Uses his hands well in an independent fashion, being able to cut off lateral movement as guys try to get around him
• Recognizes when rushers are losing their balance and he can step back to not give them the ability to use his body to re-gain it or “help” them to the turf
• Quick to ID T-E twists and get his post foot down to jack up spiking linemen trying to create a lane for the looper, while generally doing a good job of feeling pressure up the B-gap as the defensive front declares what they’re doing
• Didn’t allow any sacks and just 23 total pressures across 716 pass-blocking since 2022, despite facing the country’s pressure leader Bralen Trice in both seasons, along with the Laiatu Latu and the rest of that UCLA group last year

Weaknesses:

• Will occasionally allow defenders on the edge to slip inside of his blocks in the run game by shifting his weight too far to the outside foot
• Trying to scoop-block backside B-gap defenders, Fuaga relies on overwhelming those guys and neutralizing them by taking them out of the picture rather than getting his play-side foot in front of them and cutting off their angle toward the ball
• Lacks the kind of foot quickness/stride length to get to his landmarks against wide rushers at times
• Barely cracks 33 inches in terms of arm length and whether that’s turning the corner on him with speed or guys being able to establish first meaningful contact to not allow him to dictate reps early, Fuaga will be challenged to new dimensions vs. NFL pass-rushers
• Tends to stop his feet momentarily as he goes for his strike in pass-pro and more advanced rushers will be able to take advantage of that more regularly

There hasn’t been another tackle in college football who has thrived every single week over the past two seasons with the type of consistency Fuaga showed over that stretch. Whether it’s widening the edge on the front-side of run calls, taking interior defenders off their landmarks, or pushing around linebackers almost effortlessly, this guy has put fear into the hearts of Pac-12 defenses.

He’s also been a highly effective pass-protector against a tough slate of edge rushers. With that being said, he did benefit from a heavy dose of play-action, as only about 40% of his pass sets were labeled as “true dropbacks” by Pro Football Focus.

However, if his future team doesn’t drop back on 65+ percent of plays with a star quarterback who likes to hold onto the ball, he can also be an impact starter at right tackle for years to come.

Grade: Mid-first round