Saints 23-Year-Old Named New Orleans 'X-Factor'

There are a lot of guys on the New Orleans Saints' roster right now to be excited about with the offseason heating up ahead of the 2025 National Football League season.

It's hard not to follow the quarterback competition each passing day. Tyler Shough, Spencer Rattler, Jake Haener, and Hunter Dekkers are all with the franchise. Shough and Rattler are the two most likely options for the starting job, especially with Haener injured.

These guys will play a big role in 2025, but neither were named the Saints' "X-factor" for the 2025 season. Pro Football Focus' Max Chadwick and Dalton Wasserman shared a column in which they discussed each team's biggest strength, weakness, and X-factor. They named 23-year-old offensive lineman Taliese Fuaga the team's X-factor.

"X-factor for 2025: T Taliese Fuaga," Chadwick and Wasserman said. "One step toward greater success for the Saints’ offensive line would be a second-year breakout from Taliese Fuaga. His 65.7 PFF overall grade last season was a solid mark, considering he was playing left tackle, where he never played a single snap in college. With 2025 first-rounder Kelvin Banks Jr. in the fold, Fuaga may move back to his more comfortable position at right tackle."

He was taken with the No. 14 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and started all 17 games for New Orleans in 2024. The Saints' offensive line struggled overall in 2024, but Fuaga showed promise. Now, he'll have a tall task protecting either Shough or Rattler.

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