If you were to build a Saints defensive end in a lab, he would look like Isaiah Foskey, the team’s second-round draft selection at pick No. 40 on Friday.
Physically, Foskey, a former Notre Dame standout, is nearly identical in size and athletic attributes to former Saints defensive end Marcus Davenport. Standing 6-foot-5 and weighing 264 pounds with 4.54 speed in the 40-yard dash, he meets all of the Saints’ physical prototypes for the position.
His Relative Athletic Score of 9.61 was just below the 9.65 Davenport recorded as a prospect out of Texas-San Antonio in the 2018 NFL Draft. Foskey's score ranked among the top 10 percentile for defensive end prospects in the 2023 draft.
There’s a lot to like about Foskey. Here is why his selection makes sense for the Saints:
He’s durable
Foskey did not miss a game for the Fighting Irish during the past three seasons. He played in the final 37 games of his college career and ranked among the team’s leaders in snap counts.
He’s productive
He led the Fighting Irish in sacks and tackles for loss each of the past two seasons. As a junior, he led all FBS players with six forced fumbles. He also blocked four punts on special teams. He finished as the school’s career leader with 26.5 sacks.
He has strong intangibles
His teammates voted him a team captain, and he learned the value of discipline from his father, who served in the Navy and later worked in the Santa Clara (Calif.) County Sheriff’s Office.
He bolsters an area of need
Like first-round pick Bryan Bresee, Foskey bolsters an area of need. The Saints still have Cam Jordan, Carl Granderson, Payton Turner and Tanoh Kpassagnon, but they lost Davenport to the Vikings in free agency and Jordan will turn 34 in July. At some point, Jordan is going to start slowing down and will need to be replaced — we think. And while Turner and Granderson have intriguing potential, neither is a proven commodity.
He adds juice to pass rush
The Saints had 48 sacks last season, which tied for fifth in the league. But their advanced pass-rush metrics — hurries (29th), knockdowns (29th) and pressures (30th) — ranked near the bottom of the league.
And with Davenport, Kaden Elliss, David Onyemata and Kentavius Street departed via free agency, there’s a lot of production and playing time to replace.