How would you assess Fuaga? Do you think he’ll be another future Willie Roaf or at least a future multi- time Pro Bowler (10 Viewers)

[educator_71]

just wondering the feeling of the forum.

 

[SweetT]

Willie Roaf was a man amongst boys. I don’t see that yet with Fuaga, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be a HOFer in his own right. He was good enough to not be a scrub. He has some things he can work on

 

[Trey W.]

For his rookie season moving from RT in college to LT in the NFL is usually unheard of, it’s usually the opposite. He’s had his struggles, but has been our best O-lineman and has been able to stay healthy and on the field all season.

He’s not close to Roaf or Armstead status yet but with some refinement (an off-season now knowing what he needs to work on) and better players along the O-line, I think he will be a solid LT for 10-15 years and possible All Pro.

 

[ELLIASJWILLIAMS]

just wondering the feeling of the forum.

I think he's been the best of all the LT's drafted and also think it's possible he could have been on par w/ Joe Alt if he would have been left at RT. He doesn't seem too far off from what Penei Sewell did his rookie year after being put in the exact same situation.

Sewell played LT for the 1st 8 games of his rookie season and his PFF grade averaged out to a 64.56. To date Fuaga's overall grade at LT through 15 games is a 65.3.


You can keep Fuaga at LT and he'll probably continue to improve, or you can find a veteran LT and move him back to RT and see if his path follows a similar trajectory to Sewell's once he was switched back to RT.

 

[St.Dan]

I don't get off much into analytics, but anyone can see he was the best lineman we had out of everyone healthy enough to play consistently. I just got done in another thread posting we seem to be good now at tackle (Fuaga and Penning) and more than good at center (McCoy when healthy). Now we need some studs at guard. When the previous era on offense was at its best, it was mostly due to the guards (Evans and Nicks).

 

[WhoDat?DrewDat]

comparing a rookie LT to a HOFer is crazy lmao

he's on attack to become a multi pro bowler and has exceeded expectations by far

 

[SigFreudianSlip]

Still think he will end up getting an all pro or two. Couldn’t be happier with him or the pick. Team nailed that one imo.

 

[St. Widge]

I think he's been the best of all the LT's drafted and also think it's possible he could have been on par w/ Joe Alt if he would have been left at RT. He doesn't seem too far off from what Penei Sewell did his rookie year after being put in the exact same situation.

Sewell played LT for the 1st 8 games of his rookie season and his PFF grade averaged out to a 64.56. To date Fuaga's overall grade at LT through 15 games is a 65.3.


You can keep Fuaga at LT and he'll probably continue to improve, or you can find a veteran LT and move him back to RT and see if his path follows a similar trajectory to Sewell's once he was switched back to RT.

This brings up a question. What do you think of Will Campbell? Seems to likely be the best LT in the draft and a guy that could fall to us. Do you think he's a better LT than Fuaga? I really want help on the DL with the first pick. But if the right fit isn't there on the DL and Campbell is there and can take over at LT, you can move Fuaga to RT and have the start of a dominant OL for many years. I just don't trust that Penning is going to ever be more than serviceable in pass protection and I worry that he will regress if we change scheme and/or Dennison and Benton are not back next year.

I have to say that I have not been impressed with him at LSU this year, but I don't know the finer points of OL play so maybe the scheme is bad or maybe he's being forced to help a weak LG too much.

 

[ELLIASJWILLIAMS]

This brings up a question. What do you think of Will Campbell? Seems to likely be the best LT in the draft and a guy that could fall to us. Do you think he's a better LT than Fuaga? I really want help on the DL with the first pick. But if the right fit isn't there on the DL and Campbell is there and can take over at LT, you can move Fuaga to RT and have the start of a dominant OL for many years. I just don't trust that Penning is going to ever be more than serviceable in pass protection and I worry that he will regress if we change scheme and/or Dennison and Benton are not back next year.

I have to say that I have not been impressed with him at LSU this year, but I don't know the finer points of OL play so maybe the scheme is bad or maybe he's being forced to help a weak LG too much.

DLine depth both interior and edge is immense this year. I haven’t looked at the LTs much and though I wouldn’t be against drafting Campbell I’d prefer it be only if we couldn’t find a way to address either RT or LT w/ a veteran first

 

[longtime lurker]

Very solid for a first year starter playing in a new spot.

 

[St. Geezy]

If he stays healthy…Hall of Famer, one of the greatest Saints of all-time.

He’s turning in perfect game after perfect game, as a rookie, playing a new position…he has the gift.

 

[RJS]

This brings up a question. What do you think of Will Campbell? Seems to likely be the best LT in the draft and a guy that could fall to us. Do you think he's a better LT than Fuaga? I really want help on the DL with the first pick. But if the right fit isn't there on the DL and Campbell is there and can take over at LT, you can move Fuaga to RT and have the start of a dominant OL for many years. I just don't trust that Penning is going to ever be more than serviceable in pass protection and I worry that he will regress if we change scheme and/or Dennison and Benton are not back next year.

I have to say that I have not been impressed with him at LSU this year, but I don't know the finer points of OL play so maybe the scheme is bad or maybe he's being forced to help a weak LG too much.

There's a lot of people that think Campbell's arm length is going to be a problem at the NFL level as a tackle. Armstead, Ramczyk and Fuaga all have shorter arms for a tackle so it can be overcome but it's not ideal. There's also concerns that he plays too upright to move inside.

I think a lot of his current online draft grade is based on preseason expectations. He's going to be an interesting prospect to follow once team evaluations start leaking post-season.

 

[Optimistic Ozzy]

Get a good LG and see how he flourishes.

 

[SigFreudianSlip]

Get a good LG and see how he flourishes.

Need two guards ideally.

 

[Trey W.]

I don't know what happened with Campell this season, but it definitely wasn't his best performance for someone wanting to go in the first round of the draft. He only gave up 1 sack and 9 pressures according to PFF (I don't have full access so maybe someone who does can access his grades) but he did seem to have a high number of penalties (false starts & holding) this season compared to the past 2. I would really love to see him and Jones come back for their senior seasons but they are both slated as 1st or high 2nd rd picks so I highly doubt they stay.

I do think Campbell will do well in the NFL and have a long successful career. I guess a lot will depend on how our future coaching staff evaluates Penning on if we need to draft another OT. Personally, with the way Fuaga has played at LT, I'd rather draft Emory Jones to place at RT if they want to replace Penning.