We are breaking down the Notre Dame football prospects ahead of the NFL Draft which begins on Thursday, April 27th in Kansas City, Missouri. Today we’ll take a look at the career sacks leader in Fighting Irish history.
SPECS
Name: Isaiah Foskey
Hometown: Antioch, California
Position: DE
Height: 6-5 (per NFL Combine)
Weight: 264 (per NFL Combine)
40: 4.58 (t-9th out of 28 DE)
Vertical: 34.0 (11th out of 31 DE)
10-Yard Split: 1.66 (t-22nd out of 28 DE)
Broad: 10′ 5″ (t-7th out of 31 DE)
3-Cone: 7.28 (t-6th out of 9 DE)
20-Yard Shuttle: 4.41 (5th out of 11 DE)
Bench Press: 22 (t-15th out of 25 DE)
STATS
| YEAR | TACK | TFL | SACK | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 20 | 5.0 | 4.5 | 0 |
| 2021 | 52 | 12.5 | 11.0 | 6 |
| 2022 | 45 | 14.0 | 11.0 | 1 |
| Total | 121 | 31.5 | 26.5 | 7 |
BIO:
Foskey was a 4-star recruit out of California who was a late trend to Notre Dame during the 2019 class. In high school, Foskey spent a lot of time as a tight end while working on his pass rushing skills on defense. Most felt like he would need at least one season to begin his development and make an impact on the field with the Irish.
During his redshirt freshman season, Foskey began to make noise. He officially had a breakout season in 2021 and after a slow start in 2022 he was able to reach back-to-back seasons with 11 sacks. He leaves Notre Dame with the school record in career sacks.
STRENGTHS:
Strong hands. Uses his long arms to gain leverage with a powerful upper-body. He’s able to use his hands as clubs and work his way past defenders with quick pass-rushing moves. Extremely flexible with really good bend. Good burst out of his stance with a potent speed rush. Overall strength is good and he held up physically in the run game at the college level.
WEAKNESSES:
Often times his speed game is the only thing that separates him against top competition. Strength in the run game will be a question mark in the NFL. Even with very good speed, Foskey sometimes struggles changing directions. If he is re-routed or loses an initial battle he too often can’t make a secondary effort play on the ball. Needs to show more lower body strength.
OVERVIEW:
You could argue Foskey’s final season at Notre Dame was a little disappointing and he didn’t leave college on a high note while also sitting out the bowl game–which was one of the fun and exciting moments of the season for the Irish. Still, he put together one heck of a career and should be celebrated for becoming one of the best pass-rushers in school history.
Foskey has the chance to be the highest defensive end drafted from Notre Dame since Stephon Tuitt (46th overall, 2014) and the highest weak-side pass rushing end since Victor Abiamiri in 2007 at 57th overall.
PREDICTION:
2nd Round, 61st Overall to the Chicago Bears
In some places Foskey is sneaking into the very end of the 1st round but either way he’s pretty solidly in the second tier of pass rushers in this draft. The top guys should all be gone within the first 20-25 picks of the draft and after that it’s anyone’s guess at who will pick Foskey or how long he’ll wait to hear his name. A lot of mock drafts have the next tier waiting a while.
No doubt, Foskey helped himself with a great Combine performance. Taken more of a historical view, you’d think the record-setting Notre Dame edge rusher with an excellent NFL profile would be getting way more buzz in this draft. Sounds like he could be a steal!
I’m looking at Chicago to be the landing spot. They only have one pick in the first 52 but then acquired a pair in the late 2nd with plenty of people thinking they will look at defense, and in particular defensive line, with either of these selections. The Bears signed Rasheem Green to a modest 1-year deal recently and picked up another modest 2-year deal with DeMarcus Walker. They also have decent depth with Trevis Gipson but the franchise is poised to pick a future pass-rushing starter in the 2nd round.
Remember when Kyle Hamilton ran a 4.59 at the combine last year? I know it was disappointing and has a lot to do with proper track form/technique, but it’s absurd how fast big guys like Foskey can be.
I like this projection, hope he goes in the second round. Would feel really good for his career prospects if some team with history of knowing pass rushers (NE, PHI, BAL, NYG etc) takes him on as a project.
Few would argue that Ryan Poles has done a great job remaking the Bears. After the 2022 draft the Bears had four picks in the 2023 draft – a third, a fourth, a fifth and a seventh with the third rounder working out to 64th.
Trades of Robert Quinn and Roquan Smith brought a second, a fourth and a sixth rounders. They traded the first overall for a first and second in 2023, a first in 2024 and a second in 2025 and D.J. Moore to move back to #9.
They now have nine picks – four in the first 64 – plus a compensatory pick in the seventh and the biggest cap space in the NFL to fill out their roster after the draft.
Their defensive line was pretty bad last year, and gave up the second most rushing yards and had the lowest number of sacks in the NFL. They may well double dip at edge rushers. Foskey would fit as a pass rusher, but his run defense needs improving.
I should add that Poles this offseason – in addition to obtaining Moore at WR – signed starters at all three LB positions, OG, Walker at DT, and four second string signings.