With the 26th pick the 49ers select….
This week at A to Z Sports, we held a way too early mock draft. And with the 26th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers select…. Taliese Fuaga, OT, Oregon State The 49ers elected to go with 2020 fifth-round pick Colton McKivitz as their starter at right tackle after Mike McGlinchey […]
This week at A to Z Sports, we held a way too early mock draft.
And with the 26th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers select….
Taliese Fuaga, OT, Oregon State
The 49ers elected to go with 2020 fifth-round pick Colton McKivitz as their starter at right tackle after Mike McGlinchey departed for the Denver Broncos in free agency.
McKivitz earned their faith with a couple of admirable displays filling in for Trent Williams at left tackle. While his performances this year on the other side of the line have been passable and San Francisco could also look to address another major need at slot corner, the 49ers would benefit more from an upgrade and a more viable long-term solution across from Williams.
Fuaga would provide that. He is the 27th player on Dane Brugler’s Top 50 for The Athletic and boasts a skill set perfectly suited for the Kyle Shanahan offense.
Standing at 6ft 6in and 334 pounds, Fuaga is blessed with an enticing blend of size and movement skills. He is superb in the open field, his athleticism helping him to be an excellent puller and extremely efficient in getting to the second level. Fuaga boasts impressive power that enables him to quickly displace defenders in the run game, with the blend of his frame, his power and his physical gifts an ideal mix for an attack that heavily features zone and gap scheme runs.
In pass protection, Fuaga’s movement is a huge asset. He is quick out of his stance and his agile feet help him to stay square with edge rushers and recover when they put him in the race around the edge.
Despite the obvious power in his hands, the battle isn’t always over when Fuaga locks them on to pass rushers, and he had some issues against the counter moves of Laiatu Latu in this year’s game with UCLA.
Fuaga is not the finished product, but the raw materials are extremely intriguing. As a late first-round pick, he would be a high-upside selection who could quickly blossom into a plus starter at a position where the 49ers have not had that luxury during the Shanahan era.
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