New Orleans Saints’ Isaiah Foskey Faces NOW OR NEVER Year: Will He Rise or Fall in 2025?

New Orleans Saints’ Isaiah Foskey Faces NOW OR NEVER Year: Will He Rise or Fall in 2025?

it’s now or never for Isaiah Fosski whose future in New Orleans hinges on 2025 we got all that and a little bit of land yapp for you on today’s episode of Locked on Saints you are Locked On Saints your daily New Orleans Saints podcast part of the Locked On podcast network your team every day what is good Huda nation and Huda family i am your host your friend Ross Jackson New Orleans native your New Orleans Saints expert and credentialed member of the media covering those New Orleans Saints as a Saints beat writer over at louisianaapasports.net and on today’s episode of Locked on Saints Kelvin Banks Jr might be the least talked about first round pick for at least the recent history of the New Orleans Saints that I can remember we’ll take a look at the first round pick that could be the saving grace for the New Orleans Saints offensive line we’ll also take a look at how the New Orleans Saints can and must eliminate big plays over on the defensive side of the football and we’re going to kick everything off with a look at Isaiah Fosski going into his third year now is a makeorb breakak season for the young edge rusher we got that coming up for you on today’s episode we appreciate you very much whether it’s your first time or your next time being here with us this time making us your first listen and being every day you’re here on the show which is a proud part of the lockdown podcast network your team every day isaiah Fossky’s now or never season is well both now and hopefully not never for the young man going into 2025 this is the most important season for the young edge rusher and I want to take a look at some of these prospects that are kind of or not prospects but players that are in this kind of situation so one of our we always kind of have these like overlapping series over the course of the offseason so in addition to our offseason grade series I want to take a look at some of the now or never make or break guys going into 2025 and I wanted to start off with Isaiah Fosski because he might be one of the most interesting cases of now or never because he might be in the best position of his career going into 2025 at the same time so it actually lines up pretty well for the guy that is mind you the leading the number one player on Notre Dame’s 137year existence when it comes to most all-time career sacks or most career sacks all time um Isaiah Fusky is at the top of that list at one of the most storied franchises or one of the most storied athletics programs in college football with Notre Dame he had 26 and a half sacks effectively over three years he played four years at Notre Dame but his first year only appeared in four games had four and a half sacks his first year and then 11 in backtoback years after that but then all of a sudden he arrived here in New Orleans and he went from being we’ve talked about him before in this standup Viper role to where he was like a little bit of a hybrid pass rusher linebacker in that way and then he arrived here in New Orleans and then he became a hand in the dirt run defender effectively in Dennis Allen system and then eventually got relegated to a special teams role and so now in his third of four years remember he’s a second round pick so there’s no fifth year option in conversation here for Fosski he’s instead going into this third year which could make or break his entire future when it comes to his time at least here in New Orleans and potentially his time in the NFL as well and I do think that he’s a talented player and right now he’s going into what might be the most comfortable situation he’s been in so far since he entered the league because he’s going to be asked to do what it is that he does well which is stand up be fast rush the passer he just hasn’t had those as many at least of those opportunities as one might imagine that he would have had being drafted out of the Fighting Irish when he had 11 sacks in back-to-back seasons 22 sacks over the course of those two years and so now he kind of is in the mix along with Chase Young Carl Grannerson Cam Jordan Fidil Diggs and then I would throw in Justine Davis there as well one of the undrafted free agents that they brought in from Wake Forest as kind of this New Orleans Saints edge rusher group they didn’t do a lot of work at Edge Rusher this offseason they drafted Phil Fidil Diggs in the seventh round they brought in Jashine Davis an undrafted free agent they resigned and this was their biggest investment resigned Chase Young talked about that and what that could mean for the Saints in a previous episode but for Fosski this season is kind of it this is the proving ground for him at this point because I expect that we’re going to see a lot of roster turnover on the defensive side of the football next year really potentially on both sides of the football next year but if you think about it Cam Jordan Deario Davis Tyron Matthew those are the ones that will have all the question marks around them do they get another year do they not get another year so on and so forth when it comes to 2025 wrapping up and going into 2026 and so if Cam Jordan let’s say that 15th year is his final year the Saints move on from Isaiah Fosky as well and now have two very important rotational holes to fix when it comes to the edge rusher spot or can they get enough out of Isaiah Fosski in 2025 to at least make him stick around for the rest of his rookie contract this is a very important year you look at guys like Trevor Penning uh he’s definitely on that list if Alante Taylor doesn’t get an extension before the season which I think is very possible for him he would be on the list in terms of guys that can make real opportunity for themselves moving forward i wouldn’t put either of those guys in kind of the maybe Trevor Penning goes in the now or never category because they didn’t pick up his fifth year option so it’s literally his final year and opportunity i wouldn’t necessarily put Alante Taylor there but if he doesn’t get paid in 2025 or before 2025 he needs 2025 to go well so that he can get paid after 2025 right isiah Fosski could potentially be hanging on to a roster spot going into this season or at least fighting for a roster spot going into this season and so for New Orleans putting him in the best position best possible position to succeed is going to be good for him could be really good for New Orleans too because what if they find out that oh wait who’d have thunk it isaiah Fosski was just not being utilized the way that actually operates or goes to his you know works in his favor or operates and relies on his strengths or elevates what it is that he already does well much like we’ve seen with Zack Bon I would throw you know Alante Taylor on that list hasn’t been maximized the way that he could be maximized ideally we see that this year now Isaiah Fosski also on that list too and so I think there’s an opportunity here to see potentially Isaiah Fosski really make something for himself it doesn’t mean that he’s got to have 11 sacks in 2025 but if he in his rotational role gets to the quarterback I’m going to say a few times three four five six times then I think that there’s something to say about his ability to grow more in a fourth year and in a second year in a system that supports his talent and so that’s what I’m really intrigued to see around Isaiah Fosski now it’s not just going to come down to the pass rush for him he’s going to have to be able to contribute as a run stopper over on the edge as well you might remember that when he was selected one of the things that Dennis Allen talked about was how much he was going to be able to help because of his athleticism fossi is a lot faster and more athletic than I think people think he is um but he mentioned that his athleticism would allow the defense to be able to perform a little bit better going up against those mobile quarterbacks here could be a massive opportunity for that because if he’s playing sort of that hybrid pass rusher role he’ll get the opportunity of the outside alignment and he’ll also get the benefit of when he has to drop back into coverage in the flats and things like that that it’s zone coverage his eyes are on the quarterback he has an opportunity to pounce if that quarterback gets outside the pocket tries to run whatever might be required of him and so that gives Fosski not only the opportunity to make an impact as a pass rusher but to make an impact in the run game limiting some of these quarterbacks all these other pieces as well so a very very important season upcoming for Isaiah Fasy a real now or never makeorb breakak opportunity because he could extend his window here in New Orleans or it could be the end of his time in New Orleans depending upon how 2025 goes coming up next the New Orleans Saints must eliminate the big play let’s discuss how they can get it done on the defensive side we got that coming up for you as we continue on with today’s episode of Locked on Saints Locked on Podcast Network your team every day today’s episode brought to you by our friends over at Rouette maybe you’ve heard of Viagra and Seialis heck you might have even tried those as well but uh maybe you want to do something that’s a little bit different than the old pill and this is where Rouette Ready comes in now listen it’s a little bit different right this is a tab 3in-1 formula that dissolves under your tongue and then kicks in within 15 minutes some of those pills can take up to hours to kick in and has effects that last up to 36 hours allows you to stay confident uh maintain and be in control in the moment when the moment is right all those other things 150,000 men have already made the switch away from the pill so go and check them out today you can head over to rougeette.com/lockton NFL and use code locked on NFL to get 15% off today it’s rugg.com/lockton NFL promo code locked on NFL for 15% off individual results may vary with prescription treatment compounded drugs are permitted to be prescribed under law but are not FDA approved and do not undergo FDA safety effectiveness or manufacturing review please visit Rouette website for full safety details all right family the New Orleans Saints must eliminate the big plays over on the defensive side we spoke in yesterday’s episode about why they need the explosive plays over on the offensive side and how they can get there kell Moore scheme speed at wide receiver improved run game all those other things but now I wanted to look over the defensive side a little bit less scheme more about personnel in terms of what the Saints have done in terms of active moves that they have made towards improving some of the explosive plays they’ve given up over on the defensive side we’ll take a look at the run game and then we’ll jump over to the passing game as well what happened what can happen and who’s going to help them get there is what we’re going to focus on throughout this segment we appreciate you very much for making us your first listen and being here with us today hope that you continue to be with us as we continue on Monday through Friday here at Locked on Saints all right so for the run game which is where I want to start it’s where the NFL game starts it’s where I’d like to start too uh the New Orleans Saints gave up and surrendered 18 20 plus yard runs last season now depending upon which site you’re using and who you’re talking to the definition of an explosive run play kind of varies for some it’s 20 plus yards just like with the passing game for others it’s 15 plus yards five less than the passing game either one makes sense to me i’m using the NFL’s tracking which shows 20 plus yard plays and 40 plus yard plays so we’ll keep it at that so 18 20 plus yard runs surrendered by the New Orleans Saints that’s tied for the third most in the NFL along with the Tennessee Titans who also surrendered 18 the New York Giants were one play ahead surrendering 19 and then the very very hless Cleveland Browns led the way at 22 so four plays more than the Saints but you also might look at that and go that’s just four plays shy for the New Orleans Saints both make a lot of sense right the Saints were 31st in the NFL in the run game last year so there’s a lot of opportunity to make up some ground here and that’s just in terms of total yards the other thing to consider too is that the Saints were the second worst defense last year in terms of surrendering yards per carry as well 4.9 yards per carry just beyond the uh just beneath rather the Carolina Panthers he gave up 5.2 which was the worst mark in the league uh the States also surrendered 20 rushing touchdowns last year uh not too terrible top was the I mean I I don’t want to say you know what let me rephrase what I said i said not too terrible actually quite terrible um the Cowboys 25 Niners and Panthers were tied at 24 browns and Jets were at 22 Titans were at 21 Saints were at 20 not the company you want to be a part of from the 2025 season the other team that also surrendered 20 along two other teams surrendered 20 along with the Saints that would be the Chicago Bears and the Cincinnati Bengals you’ll notice that none of those teams were playoff teams last year right so the run game obviously is a place where the Saints need to tighten up a little bit uh when it comes to 40 plus yard plays nothing too big there the Saints surrendered one 40 plus yard run play that was of course in week three up against Kell Moore’s offense with the Philadelphia Eagles with the Saquon Barkley big run 69 yards I think is what it was pretty nice run there by Saquon Barkley uh but it’s the consistency with which they gave up the yards per carry the scoring on the ground and the big play on the ground thinking about that 20 plus yard metric that kind of put them in this position to be one of the worst run defenses in the NFL those chunk plays will add up pretty quickly right but then when you’re also have the big chunk plays and you’re also giving up five yards per carry not great Bob right not a great situation to be in so for New Orleans there’s a lot of opportunity to improve we’ll say it that way uh adversity is opportunity after all um to get a little bit better when it comes to the run defense and so we saw the Saints actually make some moves that will help there three that I’d like to highlight number one is the trade for Devon Godaw i think now my my good friend Dylan Sanders who hosts our Saints squad show disagrees with me here but I think the Devon Godshaw trade was such a smart trade and is something that will help to make that New Orleans Saints run defense better he has the ability to play nose tackle but also go to that 34 defensive end spot he has the ability to stop the run a guy that Brandon Staley when Brandon Staley and Kell Moore were together coaching in the with the Los Angeles Chargers brandon Staley was calling the defense as a Chargers head coach kell Moore was on the offensive side they were on their flight to take on the New England Patriots and the way that Devon Godshaw tells the story is that Brandon Staley told Devon Godshaw that on their way to take on the New England Patriots he said “Hey you see big number 92 that of course being Devon Godshaw don’t think you’re going to run against that guy.” And then they were not able to run against that guy and then now all of a sudden you know Brandon Sale gets his next opportunity right that was 2023 brandon Saley was an assistant head coach with the San Francisco 49ers now all of a sudden he becomes a defensive coordinator he can build out his defense what does he do he goes and he gets Devon Gotcha so I do think that there is something to that in terms of what the intent behind going to go and get Devon Gotcha is so that’s that’s number one number two is the resigning of Chase Young and continuing to invest in that edge rusher spot where you’re still looking at guys that could be edge defenders so he’s going to have to set the edge in the run game all those other things can he do it can he not do it that will be a part of the conversation the other one that I’m really really interested in is the Danny Stsman draft pick which might not impact New Orleans in 2025 as much as it will in 2026 or 2027 when it comes to the run game and so with that in mind Danny Stzman who is a heat-seeking missile and who is a solid tackler as well and you saw the Saints in this draft class Jonas Sanker Quincy Riley uh Devon Godshaw uh uh uh uh Vernon Broton all solid tacklers right a lot of reliability when it came to that much like on the offensive side a lot of reliability in terms of experience with the defensive side there’s a lot of reliability in terms of tackling and so I could see where the Saints could potentially look at Danny Stzman being one of those second level gap fill guys that can come in and really contribute in the run game but maybe that’s not a 2025 thing maybe that’s a beyond thing but look you got to plan for just beyond 2025 so I do think that the Saints have implemented or input rather the talent that will help them get better against the run when it comes to their season against the pass last year the Saints gave up and s well surrendered rather uh 55 56 excuse me um 20 plus yard plays not as bad as the Jacksonville Jaguars who gave up a whopping 71 followed up by only the Detroit Lions who gave up a whopping 62 and then another playoff team along with the the Lions not the Jaguars of course the uh the the Baltimore Ravens give up 58 while the Bears and Rams another playoff team gave up 57 and then there are the Saints and the Browns at 56 saints also gave up 10 40 plus yard plays which is one of the third is uh you know the third highest amount tied with six different teams at that point behind 14 for the Jags and then two teams tied at 12 and so there’s a lot to be done there i think that the things that you look at about how the Saints help themselves there Justin Reed bringing him in which can maximize a little bit of what you’re doing with Tyron Matthew moving Alante Taylor back into the slot getting Kool-Aid McKinstry and Isaac Adam out on the outside and potentially further investments to be had there i think still some work to do there but I do think the secondary is strong and I do think that the Saints can eliminate some of those big plays the one scheme thing that I will mention is obviously eyes on the quarterback eyes in the back field a lot of opportunity to go out there and make plays so I do think that the Saints have done the work necessary to be able to that they can do so far right what they could do this offseason without any money to spend but they went out there they got that nine person draft class all these other things that they did some things to help them out big time when it comes to improving the defense by taking away some of those explosive plays let’s see how it all pans out by the time that the actual 2025 season rolls around all right coming up next I want to wrap up the show taking a look at Kelvin Banks Jr who might be the least talked about first round pick I’ve ever covered we got that coming up for you next as we continue on with today’s episode of Locked on Saints part of locked on podcast network your team every day today’s episode of Locked On Saints is brought to you by our friends over at Monarch Money have you ever felt like it should be a little bit easier for you to manage your finances well now it can be think of Monarch Money like your own personal Kai Harley to help you manage your funds everything you need all in one app whether you’re taking a look at getting ready for a big purchase maybe you’re just worried about growing your savings they’re going to be able to help you out a ton i don’t talk about this very much but like when I travel for games and the combine and all this stuff like that’s my money that I’m spending and so that’s business 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was he not the right choice all these other pieces and so there was still a lot of conversation around him but Brian Brezie we all knew that that’s where they were going chris Olive Trevor Penning there’s been so much conversation about those guys payton Turner went very discussed because it was such a bad pick um Eric McCoy was such a home run pick marcus Davenport trading too first to move up to get him became one of the unfortunately biggest misses in the NFL draft that in recent memory and obviously that got a ton of conversation marshall Latimore Ryan Ramch going back there sheldon Rankins was this nice safe pick but a really good one andrew Pete same thing so really like you look at the last 10 years of first round picks for the New Orleans Saints and it is shocking how little we have talked about Kelvin Banks Jr and and there’s two core reasons why one of which is just the reality of the situation and the other one’s actually a really really good sign the first reason why we haven’t talked about Kelvin Banks Jr so much is because in the second round the Saints drafted their first quarterback since Archie Manning in the first or second round drafted their first quarterback ever in the second round in their entire organization’s history highest drafted quarterback since Archie Manning in the 1970s so obviously that took a little bit of precedent right like that has been the one of the core focuses and this guy is already immediately in conversation to be the starting quarterback so because of that we myself included have not talked much about Coven Banks Jr because there’s been this other most important position player that was drafted immediately after the other reason though that I think is a good thing is unlike Caesar Ruiz unlike Payton Turner unlike Marcus Davenport there’s no conversation around Kelvin Banks being a potentially bad pick like I still contend that Caesar Ruiz has turned out to be a good pick i know people disagree with me on that but I think you have to look at the entire NFL and look at the guard position and understand what you could have at guard versus what you have at guard and what the Saints tab at guard is preferable especially if Trevor Penning pans out at left guard but for Calvin Banks Jr there’s just no question about this guy he is athletic he is strong he has a mean streak with which he plays he’s a great culture guy in the locker room as well he’s an awesome awesome personality there’s just no question marks about this guy clean character it’s all there and you look at what the Saints got when they drafted him a guy that surrendered only four sacks in his entire career just one last year which was his first season in the SEC by the way who surrendered just north of 30 total pressures in his career that’s it and then now you bring him to New Orleans and you put him at his natural position or inherent position at left tackle the Saints can say they’re going to rotate and do all these things all they want blah blah blah blah i think the Saints starting five is set i think it’s Kelvin Banks Jr i think it’s Trevor Penning we know that it’s Eric McCoy and Caesar Ruiz at center and right guard and then of course tells Fuonga moving back over to his collegiate position at right tackle so as long as everybody stays healthy that should be the New Orleans starting five and I actually like over on the left side of the line Kelvin Banks Jr who already looks like a veteran out there and Trevor Penning i’ll take those mean streaks those are solid mean streaks and I love having Trevor Penning in between Kelvin Banks Jr who has sky-high potential and Eric McCoy who’s one of the best centers in the NFL i love that arrangement for Trevor Benning and so Kelvin Banks Jr not only comes in and is this solid piece but also has this ripple effect that gets Talas Fong back to his collegiate position that gives Trevor Penning another opportunity that maximizes the offensive line as a whole and maybe that’s the other reason why we haven’t talked about Kelvin Banks Jr as much and I I mean a royal Wii here collective Wii is because he had other impact on other offensive linemen because of how immediately he can plug and play at one of the three most important positions in football blindside tackle for these young quarterbacks but just a reminder about who Kelvin Banks Jr is kelvin Banks Jr out of Humble Texas perfect perfect city for him to come from because he is indeed humble comes in at 6’5 315 pounds 21 years old and listen to me when I tell you when I say 21 years old I mean a real 21 years old he turned 21 on March 10th just before the draft a month before the draft i’m not talking about oh he’s 21 years old but he turns 22 in August no no no no no no no he will play his entire rookie season as a 21-year-old rookie what does that mean it means the ceiling is sky-high for this kid especially kid grown man i just said he was 6’5 315 pounds and I have the nerve to disrespect him as a kid i am a kid compared to Kelvin Beex Jr who is a grown man um but like if he comes out in 2025 much like Tales Fanga did coming out in 2024 and being awesome at left tackle it’s only up from there in terms of his ability to progress how good is he outland trophy winner in 2024 lombardi trophy winner or Lombardi award winner in 2024 the Jacobs blocking trophy winner in 2024 unanimous all-American in 2024 first team all SEC in 2024 and in case you don’t know the Outland Trophy is given to the nation’s best offensive lineman nation’s best offensive lineman the Lombardi Award is given to a Texas athlete who quote best embodies the values and spirits of NFL’s legendary coach Vince Lombardi how cool is that and then the Jacobs blocking trophy is given to one of the best blockers in a conference if the I don’t know if y’all are able to hear that or not but that just scared me like crazy that thunder was ridiculous but anyway um he’s awesome he’s great he’s a solid first round pick and he is the least talked about first round pick that I can remember covering and so I’m excited to see where things go with Kelvin Banks Jr i’m excited for how he unlocks the rest of the offensive line and what it could mean for the rest of the New Orleans Saints moving forward all right coming up in tomorrow’s episode I want to continue down our path of grading the Saints offseason move so we’ll go from A to F leading off with where I would grade this New Orleans Saints draft class we’ll dive into that in tomorrow’s episode we appreciate you very much for making us a part of your day part of your routine for saying yes to me and the show as always if you see me please say hi and if you need anything else around your New Orleans Saints in between these episodes make sure you follow me on your favorite social media RossJackn OA hit me up let me know how you living let me know how you moming them and trust that Nation I’ll holl at you [Music]

Isaiah Foskey’s future with the New Orleans Saints hangs in the balance as the 2025 NFL season approaches. The former Notre Dame standout faces a make-or-break year to prove his worth as a pass rusher in the new defensive scheme.

Big plays haunted the Saints’ defense in 2024, allowing 18 rushes of 20+ yards. Recent acquisitions like Davon Godchaux and rookie Danny Stutsman aim to shore up the run defense. In the secondary, Justin Reid’s addition and Alontae Taylor’s solidification as the slot corner could help reduce explosive passing plays.

First-round pick Kelvin Banks Jr. flies under the radar despite his impressive college career. The 21-year-old tackle allowed just four sacks in his entire tenure and boasts sky-high potential to impact the offensive line immediately.

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