New Orleans Saints Undrafted Free Agent Profile: Sae Tautu

Had Sae Tautu been invited to the NFL Draft Combine, he very well could have been a standout performer. At the Brigham Young University Pro Day, one of the newest additions to the New Orleans Saints roster outshined other prospects like Jamaal Williams and Taysom Hill in the performance drills. Tautu’s 4.55 40-yard dash would have been the fourth best among linebackers and defensive linemen. His 38.5-inch vertical would have been third best in the same company. Tautu would have had a top five showing in the 20-yard shuttle run and top ten performances in the broad jump and the 3-cone drill.

Sae Tautu finished his career at BYU with 100 total tackles, 21.5 tackles for loss, and ten sacks. He notched fifty of those tackles in his senior season, to go with eleven TFL and six sacks (both team-highs). Tautu seems to revel in the spotlight, recording his best games statistically against two Power 5 teams, at Michigan State (6 tackles, 2 sacks, all in second half) and at home against Mississippi State (8 tackles, 1.5 sacks), and on the road against a Boise State team that was 14th in the country at the time (9 tackles, 1 sack).

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Measurables

• Height: 6’2”
• Weight: 238 lbs
• 40-yard Dash: 4.55 secs
• 3 Cone Drill: 6.92 secs
• Vertical Jump: 38.5”
• Broad Jump: 10’6”
• Bench Press: 19 reps

Sae Tautu on his post-draft and UDFA experience:

As we were talking to scouts and teams throughout this period, my spread was all over the place. I had no clue when I would go but I hoped I would get in somewhere. I was waiting for my phone to ring but the draft comes to an end and it hit me that this may not pan out the way I thought it would. It’s not like college football where you have an offer and can put it in your back pocket. When a team calls you to be a free agent, they need to know if you can sign because if you can’t, there are other guys they are going to chase. They are trying to work through that list and get the best guy possible, so you definitely have to make that decision quickly.

BYU’s SB Nation site, Vanquish the Foe, had this to say:

Tautu is an explosive edge rusher with the ability to cause disruption in his opponents’ backfields. He is a very aggressive player, which got the best of him on a couple occasions, picking up a few suspensions from targeting penalties. Tautu might be the most underrated NFL prospect out of BYU this year, especially given the value that NFL team’s put on quality edge rushers these day.

Tautu wasn’t always utilized as well as he could have been at BYU, but he produced when he had his chances and also had an impressive Pro Day. At 6-foot-2, 238 pounds, Tautu will likely fit better as an edge rushing outside linebacker in the NFL than he would at defensive end.