Saints rookie tackle Taliese Fuaga will have a challenging test early in his career

The New Orleans Saints used the 14th-overall pick on Oregon State tackle, Taliese Fuaga. He is regarded as being NFL ready, but that doesn’t mean he won’t face challenges in the NFL. In Week 2, the Saints face the Dallas Cowboys. This means that Fuaga will face All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons in just his second game.

Micah Parsons tallied 16 total sacks last year. That ranked him tied for sixth in the NFL. He is an amazing player who could cause chaos if not treated right by offenses. It will be a tough matchup, but based on college experience, Fuaga may be ready.

Taliese Fuaga will be challenged by Micah Parsons in Week 2

I am by no means saying that Taliese Fuaga will shut down Micah Parsons. It is an immense task, that almost every offensive tackle struggles with. His opponents in college may not be as amazing as Parsons is, but Fuaga is battle-tested. Last year at Oregon State, he matched up against players such as Laiatu Latu, Bralen Trice, and Jonah Elliss. Fuaga has matched up against elite talent, now it is time to see if he is able to do the same in the NFL.

Fuaga’s statistics in college are extremely impressive. Although he played in a PAC-12 conference that was very talented, Fuaga didn’t allow a single sack his entire career. In the past three years, Fuaga has played a total of 1,565 snaps according to PFF. In those plays, he has only given up five total hits and 18 hurries. 

Taliese Fuaga will be tested early on in his career when he faces Micah Parsons in Week 2. Again, he has played against elite competition in his college career which should help him in future NFL games, but we’ll see. It will be no easy task to slow down Parsons but Fuaga has the skills and the collegiate experience to be able to stop him.

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