Taliese Fuaga
Overview
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.
Strengths
Glides into pass sets with controlled slides, ready hands and quiet upper body.
Throws stiff right-left combinations, creating disruption for rusher.
Hands are highly active through the rush, helping to keep opponent centered.
Mirrors with fluidity, with little to no stall when changing direction.
Flashes ability to dig in with leveraged hand strikes at point of attack.
Gathers and adjusts his track to make his blocks in space.
Smooth and accurate when working from block to block.
Weaknesses
Pops up tall off the snap and gets behind in back-side cutoffs.
On first contact, tends to hit and bounce rather than hit and stick.
His run blocking is much less organized and technical than his pass blocking.
Doesn’t have the range in pass sets to succeed when tardy out of his stance.
Occasional issues allowing weight to slide too far out on outside foot.
Washington had some success beating his outside hand and trimming the edge.
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Originally Posted by Frozen Tundra
