In order to fill a few holes in their roster, the New Orleans Saints selected Oregon State right lineman Taliese Fuaga in the first round of the NFL draft. Every team has weaknesses, however some have more than others. The latter is where the Saints are right now.

With too many holes to cover with their first-round selections, New Orleans went into the draft inexperienced. One may argue that they made the decision to pass on signings of players who might make the most effect in next seasons. After the NFL draft, Matt Holder of Bleacher Report evaluated the state of the rosters of all 32 teams. He believes that the Saints’ left tackle position, which they share with the division-rival Carolina Panthers, is their worst weakness, although his reasoning is a little off:

Similarly, despite being named as one of the top 25 prospects on B/R’s final big board, Taliese Fuaga was categorized as a guard because of doubts about his ability to stand up in pass protection on the edge.

But in order to replace Trevor Penning, the Saints traded for Fuaga with a first-round selection.

In essence, what New Orleans did was replace one excellent run-blocker tackle prospect—who will probably struggle against NFL speed rushers—with another prospect. The Oregon State prospect will also be playing a different position this season because he played only right tackle in college.

Prior to the draft, left tackle was deemed the second most critical position. There were a lot of serious questions about both Trevor Penning and Ryan Ramczyk, so it was obvious the Saints would deal with the offensive line early on. Up until their final selection in the seventh round, when they added Eastern Kentucky right tackle Josiah Ezirim, Fuaga was the lone tackle selected. Until proven differently, left tackle might be their biggest vulnerability going into the season given Penning’s struggles from the previous campaign.

Holder arrived at the conclusion in a peculiar manner. The primary issue is that Fuaga was not selected to take Penning’s spot in the draft. In every sense, Fuaga is Ramczyk’s obvious successor at right tackle. It’s obvious that Holder doesn’t trust Penning either. According to their selection plan, the Saints have some faith in Penning. That is a risk that has to be profitable.

The Saints don’t see Fuaga as a guard, which is another problem. As a tackle prospect, Fuaga had big expectations. Fans of the Saints shouldn’t be concerned about this as it is merely a difference of scouting assessments. Because of his arm length, Bleacher Report scouts probably believes that Fuaga is best suited in the interior. When pads go on later this summer, we’ll find out if that matters.