DE Isaiah Foskey, Notre Dame
What exactly does this defense need, as we enter 2023?
Look the roster over. Clearly they're going to need several DTs, run-pluggers in particular, with some depth in the back seven and maybe a new starting safety if Bryan Cook isn't up for the gig.
But the biggest thing this defense needs, really what's going to turn this defense from a pretty good one to a Top 8 unit year in and year out, is passrushing off the edge. And not just any passrusher, a passrusher who specifically can threaten a tackle's outside shoulder. The Chiefs ideally need a couple of those guys, rather than technique-and-effort guys like Danna and Karlaftis. But ultimately, they need a premier guy. A blue chip who can torture tackles by beating them to the corner, and undercutting them when they drop too deep.
Folks, Isaiah Foskey is that missing piece. He's got really good size and ridiculous upside to go with multi-season evidence that he can explode out of his stance, turn the corner easily, and hunt QBs for games at a time. Foskey is the biggest solution to the biggest problem this defense has in 2023. He is a great fit for everything we want to accomplish.
But he may be too rich for our blood. I consistently see him with a 1st round rating, he fits both 4-3 and 3-4 defenses, and if he crushes the Combine, he may leak into the Top Ten, which is where I'd put him.
If the Chiefs can get within screaming distance of trading up for him, that's it. You've made the biggest move that will reverberate across the entire defense. He'll deliver his rookie season, and will only get more lethal as the seasons go by.