Taliese Fuaga 2024 NFL Draft Profile: Everything you need to know about Jets' potential target
With the Jets currently holding the 10th overall pick in the 2024 draft, let's take a look at one prospect who may be a target: Oregon State offensive tackle Taliese Fuaga.
By The Numbers
- Height: 6-foot-6
- Weight: 324 pounds
- 40-Yard Dash: 5.13
- Vertical: 32 inches
- Bench: DNP
- Broad Jump: 9-foot-3
- 2023 Stats (12 games started): 700 offensive snaps, no sacks allowed, eight penalties.
Prospect Overview
Bleacher Report: Taliese Fuaga is a two-year starter inside Oregon State's 56-44 run-pass split, zone-based run scheme with 25 career starts all at right tackle.
Fuaga has a large frame with good arm length and well-dispersed thickness throughout his frame. He has solid athletic ability with good initial quickness out of his stance and very good power.
NFL.com: Beefy right tackle capable of playing at a high level despite his lack of ideal pad level and lower-body bend. Fuaga plays with a fairly aggressive disposition. He’s a one-pop blocker who struggles to clinch into his run blocks and is therefore forced to work overtime to sustain and finish. The pass protection technique is outstanding, and he possesses the athleticism to mirror and match edge-to-edge rush movements. Fuaga’s hand work is exceptional in pass pro and will need to remain so, because of his lack of desired range for recovering when beaten. A team could slide him to guard to improve its interior protection, but he’s best-suited at right tackle, where he should become a good starter.
Why Taliese Fuaga makes sense for the Jets
Jets general manager Joe Douglas has once again admitted that rebuilding the offensive line remains a priority after a series of injuries wrecked the Jets’ plans in the 2023 season. Most experts have been projecting Joe Alt and Olu Fashanu as the top two tackles in this draft, but each is widely expected to be off the board before the Jets make their first selection, so the case for Fuaga being an option instead has been growing.
If protecting Aaron Rodgers is going to be a high priority, then bringing in a player in Fuaga who didn’t give up a sack in his entire college career could be a good way to address this need. While his run blocking still requires some refinement, Fuaga has the basic tools to be an effective contributor within a settled offensive line.
The Jets need to either re-sign or replace both offensive tackles, with the expectation being that they will bring in someone new at each position rather than re-signing Mekhi Becton or Duane Brown, and they probably aren’t comfortable with relying on Max Mitchell or Carter Warren as a starter at this stage. If the Jets can fill a few of their holes ahead of the draft with a couple of veterans, then the addition of a player like Fuaga will add to the team’s young foundation going forwards with Joe Tippmann and Alijah Vera-Tucker having been drafted in recent years.
Any questions as to Fuaga’s athleticism were answered at the Combine as he ran a 5.13 in the 40-yard dash and posted outstanding explosiveness numbers for his size. This solidifies him as a potential top-10 pick. However, a handful of other first round tackle prospects also boosted their stock, so the Jets will have options – even if they trade back.
Some experts have suggested Fuaga might be capable of playing inside with some even believing that could be his best position at the NFL level. If that proved to be the case, that might not be the end of the world for a Jets team that needs depth on the inside as well.
NFL Comparison
NFL.com: Taylor Decker
