NFL Draft: Notre Dame DE Isaiah Foskey drafted by New Orleans Saints in 2nd Round

The New Orleans Saints have selected former Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive end Isaiah Foskey with the 40th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

This is the highest an Irish defensive end has been taken in a draft since Renaldo Wynn was taken 27th overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Saints have recently drafted two former Irish players — Alize Mack (seventh round, 2019) and Ian Book (4th round, 2021) — although neither are still with the team.

The Antioch, Calif. product’s rookie contract will be worth $8,980,414, with a $3,531,208 signing bonus, according to OverTheCap.com,

Foskey, a 6-foot-5, 264 pound force on the edge, ascended to primary pass rusher on the 2021 Irish squad. He lead the team with 12 ¹⁄₂ tackles for loss (52 total tackles) and had the 10th most sacks in the entire Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) with 11.

In his redshirt junior season, Foskey again recorded 11 sacks and added 14 tackles for loss (45 tackles overall). He also blocked two punts. He earned first-team distinctions from Walter Camp and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), while earning second team honors from the other three organizations.

Foskey reportedly earned a third-round grade before deciding to return for his final season, so betting on himself and becoming the ninth pick in the second round seems to have paid off handsomely.

Foskey is the program’s all-time leader in sacks.

The Saints selected defensive tackle Bryan Bresee (Clemson) with their first round pick (29th overall).