2023 NFL Draft: Isaiah Foskey - Notre Dame Edge Rusher
Isaiah Foskey - Notre Dame
Strengths:
1. Hand Strength - Foskey has incredibly strong hands. He just needs to learn how to use them more effectively.
2. Burst from Two Point Stance - His burst from the edge when in a staggered 2-point stance is one of his biggest strengths.
3. Chops - He frequently can knock the offensive tackles' arms away before they initiate contact. This leads to an easy straight shot to the quarterback if they do not recover quickly. This seen frequently throughout the Cal game.
Weaknesses:
1. Pad Level - Foskey is an upright player. He struggles to generate lean that gives him any sort of leverage against offensive lineman.
2. Getting Off Blocks - In both the run and pass game, Foskey struggles to get off of blocks. In the run game, he gets pushed around wherever the lineman wants him to go. In the pass rush, he will be ineffective if held up on his initial attempt. He gets locked up by anyone who can get their hands on him, running backs included. His motor is good enough, but he is simply not an effective pass rusher when the offensive tackle is remotely competent.
3. Interior Penetration - He simply does not win when cutting inside unless by design. He does not have good interior pass rush moves, and gets locked up when attempting to cut back through the B-gap from the outside.
Grade: Mid-Late Third
Pro Comparison: Yetur Gross-Matos
Similar prospects, but Gross-Matos was a better run defender and was a bit better pulling off of blocks.
Film Notes:
USC (11/26/2022)
Playing a bit tall at the line. Patience in backfield. Getting directed by tackle. Slower off line. Good hand contact and placement, but not as much leg drive. completely locked up one-on-one without attempting to rip or perform any lateral move to get off. Good get off, but not as much play strength or closing speed. False step. Again, poor play strength in one-on-one. Plays very upright. Good rip that would not have been as effective against a tackle with better balance. Good timing, but not great burst off the line. Getting bullied in run defense. Great get off and hand placement leading to sack, but also very poorly played by the tackle. Good patience in run game. Decent leg drive with worse hands this rep. Poor bend and closing speed. Least impressive sack possible after getting held up in one-on-one for nearly five seconds by right tackle. Simply does not win one-on-one. Gets directed easily. Upright rip works on tight end. Poor bend. Really needs to learn how to play through his opponents at times. Early jump, and still cannot get around blocks. Appropriate initial contact with lean and hand placement, but gets stuck in place. Not even putting up a fight in the run game. Upright player. Great balance. Good get off and hand placement, but not great at shedding blocks. Completely locked up. Doubled, but overall rarely doubled because he does not need to be. Good get off. Great hand placement to maximize bend around the outside. Most impressive rep so far despite no sack or tackle. Decent motor throughout game. Uninspiring game overall. Barely worthy of a day two pick based on this tape for the potential first rounder.
California (09/17/2022)
Locked up one-on-one. Better get-off from two point stance. Good arm-over on the outside. Decent power overall. Did not wrap up on unblocked rep. Lacks deceleration. Good shop on the outside. Late off line. Quick rips from outside not strong enough to break tackle's grip. Great two point get off and drive without playing as upright as usual. Great burst around outside with good play strength. Effective swipe. Good burst off the edge from two point. Great motor this game. Strong grip. Good leg drive on bull rush. Right tackle is playing horribly. A lot of what Foskey is doing to generate pressure just should not be working. Drops back in the flat. Can do the same swipe every play and the right tackle will never pick up on it.
Syracuse (10/29/2022)
Held in place entirety of pass rush. Doubled. Pushed back in one-on-one. Good patience in run game. Good first step from two point. Appropriate hand placement. Good bull rush. Playing more violently this game. Doubled. Great hands overall. Held up by running back. Loses balance, as seen so frequently throughout tape. Back in coverage. Good coverage on multiple plays. Incredibly strong hands. Clean inside stunt. Poor run defense through and through. Appears as if he actively keeps himself on blocks. Poor footwork to get off of blocks. If he gets locked up initially, then he likely will not get any pressure. Good hands off of block to make the tackle. No bend around the outside.
A-Gap - Not a nose tackle.
B-Gap - Too small and lacks power to play 3-tech.
4/5-Tech - Foskey will likely be an even front defensive end, while also taking reps from outside the tackle. He does not have the acceleration and agility of outside edge rushers, and is a great size for playing defensive end. His frame may be able to hold a bit more weight, and some additional strength would help him playing over the tackle.
Edge - Likely will not be an odd front outside linebacker, but he has more pop when lining up in a staggered two point stance. Also is rather comfortable dropping back into coverage despite size and open field movement concerns.
Off-Ball - Not an off-ball linebacker.
Attributes (Grade/10):
Attributes | Bend | 3.5 |
Burst | 6.5 | |
Motor | 7 |
Bend: Along with having very little bend, Foskey is mostly an upright player. He occasionally stays low on a bull rush or has a good angle on the outside, but those reps are few and far between.
Burst: Good burst from two point stance, but not as much so from three point. His timing off the line is also inconsistent.
Motor: He has a good motor given his skillset. It is not impressive with second moves winning at the line, but he keeps moving until the play is over doing all he can to make an impact.
Skillset | Pass Rush | 5.5 |
Run Defense | 4.5 | |
Coverage | 6.5 |
Pass Rush: Decent explosiveness from the edge in two point stance which has led to him winning some easy reps on the outside, but he is going to really struggle against NFL offensive tackles.
Run Defense: Gets directed very easily to where the offensive line wants him to go. That in combination with a poor ability to get off blocks almost makes Foskey a liability in the run game.
Coverage: Drops into flats occasionally, and looks oddly comfortable staying on a man for his size.
Hands | Placement | 8 |
Effectiveness | 3.5 | |
Quickness | 6 |
Placement: Solid placement with incredible grip. With his grip strength, his hands should be considerably more effective.
Effectiveness: He just cannot shed blocks if the tackle gets a hand on him. His chop is decent, but he has little ability to rip or pull away from blocks in both the run and passing game.
Quickness: Decent quickness in his motions, but he needs to learn how to use this more effectively to his advantage.
Line Control | Strength | 6.5 |
Balance | 5 |
Strength: He has strength, but does not know how to use it well. If a coach can correct his tendencies of playing upright on the majority of plays, then he will have a stronger base with more leverage to utilize his strength. Either way, he is not the strongest prospect out there with little play strength throughout his tape.
Balance: Loses balance rather often throughout tape. Gets taken to the ground rather easily.
Pass-Rush Decisions | Versatility | 4 |
Technique | 7 | |
Execution | 3.5 |
Versatility: While he has many moves in his arsenal, he is not very effective going inside. He is most effective trying to chop or rip from the outside out of a two point stance.
Technique: The odd part about Foskey's game is that his technique is mostly solid aside from coming up too soon. He has a good stance, get-off, hand placement, and diverse pass rush moves. He just has not pieced it all together to be consistently effective. He is likely never going to be an elite NFL pass rusher, but working on his pad levels will do wonders for his game.
Traits | Agility | 3 |
Athleticism | 5 | |
Length | 7.5 |
Agility: Poor deceleration and lateral agility. He does not win by using lateral quickness, and frequently runs in a straight line regardless of his pass rush move. His inside stunt is rather good assuming the defensive tackle gets the push because it gives him a couple steps to gain momentum, but agility is still unimpressive.
Athleticism: Compared to the other edge rushers in this class, he is a poor athlete. His 4.7 40 at 265 is fine, but not great for an edge rusher. His burst is not excellent, his agility is poor, and he shows little play strength. He is has decent metrics overall for his position, but he cannot touch the freaky athleticism scattered throughout the 2023 edge class.
Full Report:
Foskey has excellent size, with good overall burst from the edge. His hands are incredibly strong, and he is a very versatile player overall. He is a special teams guy, understands how to drop back in coverage, can has experience lining up from the edge and over the tackle. In theory, he is a swiss army knife who should be highly coveted with his first round grade from many draft sources. Unfortunately, he just does not win up at the line. Whether it is run defense or rushing the passer, Foskey just does not win. He gets bullied in run defense, and does not get penetration between blockers. In the pass rush, he gets locked up one-on-one nearly every play. His motor is the only reason he has many of his bigger plays, and even then, his burst around blockers is not impressive. Most of how he got pressure through quick chops and extended plays simply will not happen in the NFL. Despite having strong hands, they are not very effective. He has no reliable inside pass rush moves, and poor agility and bend on the outside. That leaves going through lineman, but he plays upright and does not express much play strength. Foskey is by no means a first round prospect, and teams would be taking him for his production and size if he goes in the second. While he is undoubtedly one of the better collegiate defensive ends, he simply lacks the skillset to win consistently in the NFL. He is worth taking a shot on in the third if teams believe that they can refine his technique, but he is by no means polished and also lacks the upside of many of the more athletic prospects in this class. If he can learn to keep his pads lower, use his hands more effectively, and develop more reliable legitimate pass rush moves, then he may become a solid NFL pass rusher. He is just too far away from where he needs to be as an NFL pass rusher to be worthy of an early pick.
NFL Projection:
Foskey will likely go day two in the draft. He will disappoint fans with his lack of production as a starter, and get relegated to a rotational player. Ideally, he falls in the draft a bit to a team that can afford to sit him. He gains some strength as he develops a bit behind more refined pass rushers, becoming an effective defensive end heading into year two or three.
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