Tag: Isaiah Foskey

Kool-Aid McKinstry signing may have set a new precedent for Saints

Friday’s Kool-Aid McKinstry signing may have set a new precedent for the Saints. It’s the soonest they’ve signed a second-round rookie under the new CBA:

This was a bit of a surprise. The New Orleans Saints announced Friday that second-round draft pick Kool-Aid McKinstry had signed his rookie contract, meaning all seven picks from their 2024 draft class had put pens to paper.

But that’s not all. This was the soonest a Saints second round pick had signed their contract under the new collective bargaining agreement, which came into effect in 2021. While that CBA did standardize rookie salaries and tie contract values to draft slots, there was still some wriggle-room left for players’ agents and teams’ front offices to negotiate things like guaranteed money, offsets paid by other teams after trades, and other details.

Those talks have sometimes taken months to work out, but that wasn’t the case for McKinstry. Here is when each of the Saints’ second-round draft picks signed their rookie contracts under the new CBA:

  • 2021: Pete Werner signed on June 8
  • 2022: Alontate Taylor signed on July 19
  • 2023: Isaiah Foskey signed on July 19
  • 2024: Kool-Aid McKinstry signed on May 31
It’s also possible that McKinstry is an exception — we’ll have to wait and see how things go in 2025. But it’s good to get these things out of the way sooner rather than later. It’s one less distraction to trail the team (however small) and one less order of business to conclude before training camp starts in late July. Now they can really focus on football.

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Isaiah Foskey, Payton Turner must step up in the wake of Tanoh Kpassagnon’s injury

Tanoh Kpassagnon will miss some time with a torn Achilles. Payton Turner and Isaiah Foskey must step up during his absence:

Dennis Allen announced New Orleans Saints defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon tore his Achilles during the offseason, head coach Dennis Allen said Tuesday. Kpassagnon isn’t one of the biggest names on the Saints defensive line, but his absence will be noticed if New Orleans doesn’t get more from their young players.

Cameron Jordan, Carl Granderson and Chase Young are expected to lead the charge off the edge. There are question marks there but contributions from young draft picks like Isaiah Foskey and Payton Turner would help complete the rotation at defensive end. The Saints will want to go four-deep as they have before. That isn’t possible without someone stepping up in Kpassagnon’s place.

Kpassagnon registered the third-most pressures on the team in 2023, and tied for the fourth-most sacks. Though he may not miss the entire season, losing one of your most productive pass rushers is a tough blow. It’s even more impactful when banking on the struggling pass rush to improve this season.

It’s unclear how much time Kpassagnon miss and unknown how long he’ll need to ramp up upon his return. During that time frame, either Turner or Isaiah Foskey (or both) must step up. Both players were hampered by injury last year, the last three years in Turner’s case. Health concerns aside, at least one of those two needs to be an impactful player in at least a rotational role. The Saints may feel compelled to sign a free agent but getting more production out of one of them would be a better development in this story.

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Saints say DE Tanoh Kpassagnon tore his Achilles, will miss training camp

The Saints said Tuesday that Tanoh Kpassagnon tore his Achilles, which will cause him to miss training camp. Three of their top four defensive ends are managing injuries:

This isn’t how you want to start the offseason. The New Orleans Saints announced that veteran defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon suffered a torn Achilles tendon in the spring that will sideline him through the summer, and likely into the 2024 seaosn.

“Tanoh tore his Achilles in the offseason,” head coach Dennis Allen said Tuesady. “So he’s going to be out for a little while.”

Kpassagnon won’t be able to participate in training camp this summer while recovering from this injury, and it remains to be seen whether he’ll be cleared to play during the regular season. For some context, former Saints linebacker Kwon Alexander suffered the same injury in late December, during the 2020 season, but was able to practice in August before the start of the 2021 season. So we’re looking at probably a seven-month recovery timeline for Kpassagnon, though every situation is different. He may be able to return a little sooner or require more time to fully heal. It’s too soon to say.

Either way, this is a big loss for New Orleans. Kpassagnon has become an important part of the team’s rotation at defensive end; his 34 quarterback pressures last season were third-most on the team, and his 3.5 sacks tied defensive tackle Nathan Shepherd for fourth-most. This means that three of the Saints’ top four defensive ends are dealing with injuries before training camp: Cameron Jordan (ankle), Chase Young (neck), and Kpassagnon (Achilles).

How the depth chart shakes out from here is anyone’s guess. Payton Turner has played ahead of Isaiah Foskey when healthy, but he missed most of the 2023 season after a Week 1 injury of his own; Foskey was also sidelined extensively while managing a quadricep injury. Other players in the mix include Niko Lalos (returning from last year’s practice squad) as well as undrafted rookies Nathan Latu and Trajan Jeffcoat.

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TD Wire says Carl Granderson is the Saints’ most underrated player

Touchdown Wire says Carl Granderson is the Saints’ most underrated player. The team’s 2023 sacks leader looks to repeat that feat in 2024:

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar highlighted the most underrated player for all 32 teams in the NFL, and defensive end Carl Granderson was his choice for the New Orleans Saints.

The team’s 2023 sacks leader is looking to repeat that feat in 2024 — Granderson broke out last year by nearly doubling his snap count after working his way into the starting lineup, posting career-highs in sacks, tackles, and pressures.

Even after signing Chase Young in free agency while bringing back Payton Turner from a season-long injury (and with Isaiah Foskey pushing for reps), the Saints are going to be leaning hard on Granderson again this season. They’ll need more from him as Cameron Jordan’s career draws to a close.

Here’s why Farrar argues Granderson deserves more acknowledgement around the league:

Josh Allen, Jim Kiick, Conrad Dobler, Tashaun Gipson Sr., Jay Novacek, and Dave Hampton have all had nice careers after coming out of Wyoming, and Saints edge-rusher Carl Granderson is looking to add his name to that roll. An undrafted free agent who signed on with New Orleans in 2019, Granderson worked his way up from roster afterthought to key piece in the Saints’ defense, and he was rewarded with a four-year, $52 million contract extension with $32.3 million guaranteed last September. All he did after that was to put up career years in just about every possible category with nine sacks and 63 total pressures.

While Granderson has the speed to get around the edge, his premier skill has him wasting blockers with pure power to beat one-on-ones and double teams.

It’s going to be fascinating to see how the Saints divide snaps and roles to the different players they’ve stacked up at defensive end. Granderson should be starting again opposite Jordan, whose reps should decline to make room for Young on third downs and obvious passing situations. Making room for Turner, Foskey, and the always-underrated Tanoh Kpassgnon is going to be challenging for a Saints defense which typically dresses just four players each week on game days. Whoever ends up in the rotation, expect Granderson to lead the charge.

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Fans should expect a delay in Saints signing Kool-Aid McKinstry

Fans should expect a delay in the Saints signing Kool-Aid McKinstry. Second-round draft pick contracts have become a battleground between teams and agents:

Look ahead a few months and we can guess what New Orleans Saints fans will be asking: why hasn’t Kool-Aid McKinstry signed his contract? Recent collective bargaining agreements between the NFL and the players union has streamlined negotiations on rookie contracts, so there aren’t many points of conflict remaining. Most of the Saints draft class now signs their deals after rookie minicamp in May. But there’s one area that has turned into a battlefield: contracts for second round picks.

First-round pick contracts are fully guaranteed for the first four years, and we’re seeing players picked high in the second round receive heavier guarantees into the third and even fourth years of their deals. Agents are working to squeeze more guaranteed money for their clients but it’s leading to delays in getting these contracts signed.

Both of McKinstry’s predecessors, Isaiah Foskey (the 40th pick in 2023) and Alontae Taylor (the 49th pick in 2022) signed their contracts on July 19, when rookies reported about a week before training camp. So we should expect a similar delay for him. McKinstry was picked at No. 41 after the Saints traded up for him.

Last year, Foskey won guarantees for 95.98% of his salary in 2025 (the third year of his contract). As noted by NFL salary cap analyst Miguel Benzan, also known as Patscap, Foskey was the eighth player picked in 2023’s second round to get his first three salaries guaranteed. In 2022 just five second rounders managed that. And in 2021, only two second-round picks got three years guaranteed. So it’s slowly creeping higher, which is good news for young players.

That’s bad news for anxious Saints fans who want to see every draft pick signed as quickly as possible. But they’ll be alright. The new CBA has leveled such heavy fines for players holding out during training camp that the off-field drama is almost nonexistent, especially among rookies. You’d hope that Mickey Loomis and Khai Harley have learned from past experiences to get these deals done as soon as possible. We’ll just have to wait and see whether McKinstry continues the trend or if the Saints can finalize his contract sooner than they have in the past.

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Chase Young identified as a solution to Saints’ pass-rush woes

The Saints pass rush has been abysmal. Could Chase Young help them out at defensive end? ESPN makes the case for pursuit of the 49ers free agent:

Defensive end is one of the biggest concerns for the New Orleans Saints as they’re currently constructed. Despite the selections of Payton Turner and Isaiah Foskey with top-40 picks in 2021 and 2023, the pass rush remains at the bottom of the league. There were 27 teams with more sacks last season than the Saints.

The issue should be addressed this offseason either in free agency or the upcoming 2024 NFL draft. Veteran options will be available sooner, and the Saints aren’t known for their patience, so that’s where we’ll start looking. ESPN’s Aaron Schatz identified San Francisco 49ers defensive end Chase Young as a solution for the Saints who may hit the open market:

The best option might be a one-year, prove-it contract for Young. He couldn’t stay healthy in 2021 and 2022, and while he had 7.5 sacks in 2023, his game fell off after he was dealt to San Francisco in the middle of the season. Young ranked 15th among edge rushers with a 19.3% pass rush win rate off the edge, but that went from 24.8% while he was with Washington to just 12.9% with San Francisco (through the playoffs). On a one-year deal with New Orleans, Young could play opposite Cameron Jordan and prove he still has all the talent that made him the No. 2 overall pick in 2020.

A prove-it contract would be mutually beneficial for both parties. If Young performs well, he gets to hit the market in 2025 and likely get a moderately lucrative contract because of his draft pedigree. Losing Young after a year is a downside for New Orleans, but that’s a risk they’ll have to be comfortable taking, and there’s a good chance the Saints receive a compensatory draft pick if he leaves.

Young likely wouldn’t cost much because of his injury history and recent inconsistent play. Signing him would be a low-risk, high-reward move. Let’s see if it’s in the cards for New Orleans.

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Draft expert sells Saints fans on top pass rusher Laiatu Latu

NFL draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah understands why Saints fans are leery of another pass rusher, but says Laiatu Latu ‘is totally different’ from past busts

NFL draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah understands why New Orleans Saints fans are leery of seeing their team pick another pass rusher — they’ve swung and missed at several prospects early in recent draft cycles.

Marcus Davenport. Payton Turner. Now, Isaiah Foskey. All of them have failed to deliver either for missing time with injuries or not producing when on the field. It’s been a frustrating experience for the Saints to pour so many resources into the position group and have so little to show for it.

And the pass rush is an area of concern for the Saints again this year after they failed to get after the quarterback last season. One popular prospect for them in media mock drafts is UCLA star Laiatu Latu, who Jeremiah describes as a breath of fresh air given New Orleans’ past approach.

“Look, with Latu, he is totally different than those guys you just mentioned,” Jeremiah began, speaking on a national conference call Thursday. “So their formula that they had been chasing is more traits-based. All those guys you mentioned were kind of more raw, not technical pass rushers, but big, physical, explosive guys who weren’t technicians.”

The 6-foot-4, 261-pound Latu has plenty of size for the Saints’ standards even if he isn’t as tall as Tanoh Kpassagnon or as heavy as Cameron Jordan. And he’s been highly productive in two years at UCLA. Latu sacked the quarterback 23.5 times in 25 games while racking up 34 tackles for loss. He also finished with five forced fumbles and two interceptions. He’s a game-changer, and it’s a result of the work he’s put in to hone his craft.

Jeremiah continued: “Latu is a technician, man. I compare him to Trey Hendrickson. He is really good with his hands. He can win a variety of ways. He has a natural feel for pass rush. Some parts of the pass rush remind me of wide receivers. There’s route runners. There’s an artistry to it. Latu is an artist.”

That’s not to say Latu is a perfect prospect. He transferred to UCLA and missed the 2020 and 2021 seasons after a neck injury threatened his college career. It hasn’t been a problem in the years since, but it’s an injury history teams like the Saints must take seriously.

He’s moved on from that scary incident and developed into maybe the best pass rusher in this year’s draft class. Teams like the Saints would be wise to consider him.

“He is really, really gifted that way. So a totally different style than the guys that you mentioned that maybe they haven’t hit on in the past,” Jeremiah finished.

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NFL analyst says Saints’ 2023 draft class made a poor first impression

This NFL analyst graded the New Orleans Saints’ 2023 draft class a C+, saying that they made a poor first impression:

Looking back on it now, the biggest critique of the 2023 New Orleans Saints draft class was overall inactivity. Defensive tackle Bryan Bresee was the only draftee you can point to who played significant time, so it’s not difficult to see why NFL.com’s Eric Edholm gave the draft class a C+ grade. Jordan Howden also filled in at safety due to injuries, but he spent half of the season only coming in for specific packages. It’s just difficult to grade a class high when most of the players didn’t see the field often.

Defensive end Isaiah Foskey, offensive lineman Nick Saldiveri and quarterback Jake Haener were absolute non-factors in 2023. Haener was a third-string quarterback, as expected, so there’s no problem there. Foskey and Saldiveri, however, were disappointments this year. The Saints’ pass rush struggled so badly that defensive end is still looked at as a priority to many this offseason. Despite that, Foskey barely saw the field. The health of the offensive line was depleted, but there was still no Saldiveri, who ended the year with his own injury.

The grade is fair but still tough to swallow. New Orleans’ rookie draft class was disappointing in their debut season, but that doesn’t mean they can’t improve. Howden, wide receiver A.T. Perry and running back Kendre Miller all flashed the potential to be quality players with more snaps. Time will tell if Foskey or Saldiveri make an impact, but it feels as if they’ll be pushed down the depth chart this offseason. The only sure thing the Saints have from their draft class is Bresee. Hopefully he can continue to dodge the injury bug that trailed him in college and make plays for the defensive line.

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Grading every rookie from the Saints 2023 draft class

Grading every rookie from the New Orleans Saints 2023 NFL draft class: How did Bryan Bresee, Kendre Miller, Blake Grupe stack up?

The New Orleans Saints are going to be relying on their young players heavily as other parts of the roster begin to show their age, but how did each of their rookies from the 2023 NFL draft class grade out? Who is off to a good start, and who needs to make up for lost time?

Here’s how we evaluated each Saints rookie now that the 2023 season is behind them:

Ranking the Saints’ 5 most disappointing players of 2023

The Saints didn’t meet expectations in 2023, but some players have dirtier hands than others. Here are our five most disappointing performances:

The 2023 season was a weird one for the New Orleans Saints. It seemed as if the team was primed for a postseason berth, surging in the back half of the year and winning four of their last five games. That, however, wasn’t the case. The Saints’ season ended in the regular season. That is what’s most disappointing — they’re stuck at home watching the playoffs instead of competing in the postseason.

It wasn’t simply missing the playoffs that made this season a disappointment. The journey along the way was equally as disappointing and frustrating.  And it’s important to acknowledge which position groups and players did not meet expectations. Which performances were the most disappointing in 2023? Here are our five picks: