When it comes to the assessment of Isaiah Foskey heading into year 2, Saints had coach Dennis Allen has kept the message consistent and simple.
Step 1: Stop overthinking things. Step 2: Cut it loose.
It's messaging that the former Notre Dame standout and second round pick from 2023 has heard and taken to heart as he attacks this year's program.
“I feel I was just in my head trying not to make a mistake and then that was just throughout the whole entire year, just in my head, don’t make a mistake, don’t make a mistake," Foskey said this week. "But now I’ve got the whole defense under one year, going full speed just helped a lot.”
Another part of that issue was injury, a common theme for the Saints' early-round defensive ends in recent years. Playing time was limited after an preseason that didn't really show much impact, but he was carving out a space in the rotation and getting work on special teams. That effectively came to an end on the opening kickoff of a Week 9 win over the Bears with Foskey leaving with a quad injury. That kept him out until an attempted return in Week 13 against Lions, but he reaggravated the injury and didn't see the field again until limited action in the finale.
That meant Foskey ended his rookie season with 5 tackles and a half sack in 10 games played. It was frustrating, particularly because it was the first time that he'd missed significant time with an injury at any level of football. It also represented a significant missed opportunity with ironman Cam Jordan managing an injury of his own late in the year and opening up potential reps for the young player.
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"That was like a little learning curve, too, like really try to take care of my body, make sure I’m available to play in those games," Foskey said. "That was like a little learning curve that I really had to learn pretty much the hard way."
Back healthy now and with a year of the defensive playbook to his credit, Foskey says he's ready to play faster and follow his head coach's direction. Early returns at camp are showing that, including a rep late in the third OTA session where his pressure on a Derek Carr pass likely helped it get deflected at the line for what turned into an interception.
If players like Foskey, newly signed Chase Young and even Turner can make an impact in the mix that includes stalwarts in Jordan and Carl Granderson, the defensive line could quickly develop as a strength of this group. For now, though Foskey is getting to work with the rest of his team. And he's building on his confidence in the process, ready for the jump in Year 2 that is common across the NFL.
That confidence comes with big goals. He's hoping for double-digit sacks and a host of impact plays behind the line.
"I know a lot of people say that," Foskey said, "but I feel like this year for me is going to be the biggest jump that you guys will see and I’ll see in myself.”