Futures: Notre Dame’s Foskey could be Cowboys’ pass-rush draft dream in ’23
It’s never too early to turn attention towards the 2023 NFL Draft, especially as it is now less than two months away from a trio of intriguing matchups. Things get rowdy early as Georgia takes on Oregon, Ohio St. faces Notre Dame, and Florida St. travels down to Baton Rouge to square off with LSU. The seeds of prospects who will be all the rave during the pre-draft process in January are being planted now.
The 2023 edge rusher group has a real chance to evolve into one of if not the deepest position group in next year’s class. With players like B.J Ojulari (LSU), Isiah Foskey (Notre Dame), Nolan Smith (Georgia), Clemson’s Myles Murphy, Zion Tupola Fetui (Washington), and Ohio States Zach Harrison there should be plenty of options to choose from. Maybe the most intriguing of the aforementioned players is Foskey, who has a unique blend of size, length, athleticism and alignment versatility.
We take a look at Foskey and why his arrow is trending up and if he could be a fit for the Dallas Cowboys come next April’s draft.
Measurables
Michael Caterina/South Bend Tribune-USA TODAY Sports
Height: 6-foot-5(unofficial)
Weight: 260(unofficial)
Position: Edge/OLB
Hometown: Antioch, CA
High School: De La Salle
At the time of his signing was the No. 211 player nationally and the No. 13 weak side defensive end. He was the 28th best player in the state of California according to 247 sports composite.
Career Statistics:
2019: Only played in four games. Five tackles, One pressure and a blocked punt.
2020: 20 tackles, five tackles for loss, four and half sacks, one pass defended.
2021: 52 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, six forced fumbles. Started all 13 games.
Honors and Awards:
2021 Phil Steele All-American Third Team Selection.
Summer Scouting Report
It’s easy to see why Foskey has started to generate a ton of buzz amongst the scouting community. A lot of it has to do with the tools: the size, length, athleticism and how he is utilized but in 2021 the production started to match the potential. He led the Fighting Irish in sacks (11), which ranked third-most in a Notre Dame single season. He is only nine sacks away from becoming the Irish’s all-time leader in sacks.
He started all 13 games and recorded a sack in nine of those starts.
Foskey decided to return for his senior season, stating, “The main thing was I believe in Coach Freeman and I just believe in the whole team that we can actually win a national championship. I believe that we can actually do that. The best of both worlds, I can come back, develop as a defensive and not just as a pass rusher, but as an all-around defensive player, but I feel like this team can really win a national championship, that’s the main reason I came back.”
Foskey knows what another year of improving his skill set could not only do for his team but his development as well and being able to self-scout is huge when it comes to understanding what areas you need to improve in.
“Everyone sees that I can get to the quarterback but I want to really emphasize that I can stop the run, hold the edge, make plays, make a lot more TFLs (tackles for loss) and of course make more sacks …. Another good reason why I came back too is I was close to the sack record.”
Foskey’s leadership both on and off the field will be the key if Notre Dame is to get back to the college football playoffs in back-to-back seasons.
Evaluation
Games Watched: USC (2021), Purdue (2021)
STRENGTHS:
Foskey has plenty of size, listed at 6-foot-5, 260. He moves really well both coming forward and when he is asked to play in reverse. He is a well put together 260 with a ripped physique.
He offers position and alignment flex with the added ability to give you quality snaps both as an edge rusher or an off-ball backer. He has reps from a multitude of alignments: Sam linebacker, Will linebacker, Mike linebacker. Strong side or weak side defensive end.
Foskey is a nuanced rusher with plus hand usage and a solid repertoire of moves, but his primary rush move is that long arm chop where he basically uses his inside arm as his strike/long arm, and he swipes through the blockers outside arm allowing him to rip through or simply grease the corner.
He has range as a pursuit player with a motor that runs hot allowing him to chase downplays from the backside.
While most of the talk is centered around the tools he has as a disruptive pass rusher, he’s player with the baseline ability to hold the point-of-attack and could stack, shed and play through contact.
He not only sacks the quarterbacks and creates pressure, but he forces turnovers; six forced fumbles in 2021.
Two career blocked punts.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT:
Foskey will need to continue to add variety to his rush. At times he relies too much on his go-to rush move, allowing blockers to get a read on his rush patterns.
He still has room to grow as a run defender. Both at the point of attack and generating tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
His versatility as a player is a plus but it would do him well at some point this season to settle into what he does best, which is rush the quarterback, and really master that skillset.
More rushes from a three-point stance to see if he can play as a down defensive end.
PROJECTION: Foskey projectsin a wide alignment, with the base characteristics of an outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense.
It’s very early in the process but Foskey with a productive year on tape and an impressive pre-draft process could easily work himself into first round of next year’s draft. He plays a premium position, at a big-time school and he has projectable size and athleticism.
How He Fits with The Cowboys
WHAT THEY HAVE:
The Cowboys have a pretty good nucleus of edge rushers on the current roster. Their best defensive lineman is two-time Pro Bowler Demarcus Lawrence, and their best pure pass rusher is sophomore phenom, Micha Parsons. Provided they remain healthy it should be an interesting race as to who finishes with the most sacks by season end.
After that there is a little more projection involved. Rookie Sam Williams should be in line to play a lot after being selected in the second round. Dorance Armstrong is likely to be the starter opposite of Lawrence and he is expected to improve after starting a career-high five games last season and finishing with a career-high five sacks.
Dan Quinn helped bring in Dante Fowler with the hopes he could rekindle some of the success he had earlier in his career as a situational rusher. Tarell Basham played well at times last year and provides the group with needed depth.
WHAT THE FUTURE LOOKS LIKE:
By seasons end we will know where the Cowboys stand when it comes to their edge rushers and just how big of a need it is entering 2023. Lawrence, Parsons, Armstrong and Williams will all return in 2023. Basham and Fowler are slated to become free agents so there is a good chance the Cowboys are looking to add depth to the group either through free agency or the draft.
If anything has been learned about the type of defenders Quinn covets it’s the ability to play a multitude of positions well. There is no greater example than the way he utilized Parsons, but it is littered across his defense. The Cowboys are a fluid unit that align either out of a three or four down lineman looks.
That is why Foskey would be an intriguing fit with the Cowboys. He already has the experience of playing all three linebacker spots and can get after the quarterback as a standup rusher. On top of that, his measurables are similar to Williams who Quinn was enamored with during the pre-draft process so there is a connection between what he looks for in a player.
Everyone has heard the old adage, “You can never have too many pass rushers” so anytime there is an opportunity to add a talented rusher to your team it’s a no brainer.
