The New Orleans Saints got their guy at No. 14, even if it was a bit unexpected by Taliese Fuaga himself.
The new Saints tackle met briefly with the Saints at the Senior Bowl and Combine, but that was mostly it. Still, as he broke down on WWL's Draft Fest special, it was a welcome surprise.
"The phone call hit my phone and my face, I looked up to my agent and I was like, do I answer and he was like, of course you answer," Fuaga said, speaking with Steve Geller, Mike Detillier, Mike Hoss and Deuce McAllister. "It’s just a blessing man, so I’m excited.”
Listen to the full, exclusive interview with Taliese Fuaga in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here.
Saints head coach Dennis Allen addressed the limited interaction simply after the first round. The scouting process is about answering questions. Once all your questions are answered, you can move on to players with more difficult profile's to parse. The answers came early for Fuaga, he said, through the scouting and interviews. The team knew exactly what they'd be getting if he fell to them.
"I think I just fell in love with the personality," Allen said. "I just fell in love with, I didn't feel like this player was sitting in front of me trying to sell me something that he wasn't. I felt a genuine person, and I just felt like he was a man's man, guy's guy, dude's dude, however you want to call it. ... And I like that."
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It's a mentality that Fuaga is excited to bring to New Orleans, where he said one of his biggest anticipations is working with his new teammates. The former Oregon State Beaver profiles as a right tackle prospect, filling a clear need with Ryan Ramczyk's status up in the air due to a nagging knee issue. Fuaga could step in immediately at that position and is a road-grading run blocker, but he also went his entire Beavers career without being credited with a sack allowed and takes pride in that part of his game.
There are parts of his game he's worked on and will continue to work on, specifically power in his front leg -- or post leg -- and firing off the line faster to account for the improved speed and talent level of edge rushers. But he has a promise for the Who Dat Nation as he gets up to speed.
"I’m gonna give you guys my all," he said, "just know that."
The Saints will have plenty of more opportunities to improve the roster with eight picks remaining, though they have just one more selection (No. 45) in the first four rounds, barring trades.