Bears to work out former 2nd-round pick Isaiah Foskey

Stephen Lew - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 2 hours ago

With most of the NFC North making some late offseason roster moves, the question was whether or not the Bears would be next. After all, this division is already arguably the deepest and toughest division in the game, so Chicago can't afford to fall further behind than it already is.

Even if the Bears don't make a flashy move like the Packers or Vikings have done, a move could be in the works, as Chicago is set to work out former second-round pick Isaiah Foskey later this week. The former New Orleans Saints defender has previous experience working with Dennis Allen in the Big Easy, and also plays a position of need (Edge) that Chicago is looking to add more depth to.

At 24 years old, the former Notre Dame EDGE rusher has a long way to go in his NFL career, but he has already shown some flashes during his brief time in the league. At 6-5 and 269 pounds, Foskey has the ideal size you look for in an Edge defender, but he may not be as athletically gifted as some of the more polished players at his position.

While playing for Notre Dame, Foskey was one of the leaders on the Marcus Freeman defense, seeing action in all four seasons he was on Campus. He only played four games as a freshman before playing in 37 games over his final three seasons, as he was as reliable as they come. During his final three years on Campus, Foskey showed how dominant he could become, recording 26.5 sacks from 2020-22 to emerge as one of the best pass-rushing prospects of the 2023 class.

His success came after back-to-back 11-sack seasons in 2021 and 2022, as the Notre Dame defense was led by his ability to get after the quarterback. Following his impressive showing in South Bend, Foskey took his talents to the NFL, where he committed to the 2023 NFL Draft and was regarded as one of the top edge prospects in his class.

Although he may not have been a first-rounder, Foskey didn't have to wait too long to hear his name called as the Saints nabbed him in round two as the No. 40 overall selection. That alone is worth noting, as Allen was the Saints' defensive coordinator in 2023 and part of 2024, while also handling some head coaching duties last season.

Having familiarity with an NFL scheme can be beneficial, but being in the Allen scheme as recently as last season could be particularly helpful for Foskey and the Bears, as he should be up to date on the terminology needed to make plays. Although he didn't have the same success at the NFL level as he did in college up to this point, Foskey has still seen plenty of game action and has appeared in 27 games across two seasons.

That included all 17 games last season when he bounced around between a special teamer and a role player. Foskey is coming off a season with only 16 tackles and now has 25 total tackles in two years. Those are extremely low numbers for a second pick, but Foskey landed on a team with tons of defensive talent, and it was difficult to find him playing time early in the season.

Should the Bears like what they see after they work him out, a deal could come shortly thereafter, as Foskey would provide the Bears with a nice depth piece on defense. Given the Bears' position, if Foskey comes in and proves he knows the Allen scheme just as well, if not better than anyone, that should give him a leg up on the other role players, and that alone could land him more playing time.

Even if the three career pressures in 149 defensive snaps are minimal, Foskey is one of those potential low-risk, high-reward investments for a team that desperately needs help at the Edge. It will be interesting to see if he and Allen reunite for year three to see what can become of this once highly touted prospect.