2020 1st round pick is Isaiah Simmons

[Ronin]

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[BritCard]

But I thought someone on here was saying he was a safety & played most of his snaps there? Also had very few snaps at ILB. That poster must have been wrong or am I thinking of something else?

There "ILB" snaps are nearly all at WLB in coverage.

They aren't him playing inside 5 yards off the LOS, coming downhill, trying to diagnose run/pass, shed blocks etc

He played these snaps with a very specific assignment, usually spying the QB or coverage. Basically jobs a SS does in our formation. Trying to pass these LB snaps off as traditional inside backer is disingenuous.

The only time he truly played what most consider to be ILB was in the championship game in Q4 after that dude was kicked out.

I still love the idea of him being a S. To me it opens up so many more options as a defense. Now, I didn't study him enough to know how is play in space translates to the NFL but his measurables are comparable other Sis in the league.

Chopper gets it.

The ultimate way to use Simmons would be to line him up all over the place and disguse his role from down to down.

Assuming, of course, that he has the size, range and Football IQ to meet the challenge.

Each defensive snap figures to be an adventure, and it will be VJ's responsibility to make it all work.

The ultimate way to use Simmons is not with Vance Joseph.

 

[Jetstream Green]

The boy????

Yes, because though I like the pick a lot... well, till he shows something as a pro he's a boy and if he turns out the way I think he will, then he will be just a boy compared to the man he will become wreaking havoc

 

[Chopper0080]

This draft was tough for me. I liked both Simmons and Derrick Brown last year before they made the decision to return to school. That said, most people know on this board that I am a proponent of having a top offensive line to support a QB. I am disappointed we did not take Wirfs, but Simmons is a hell of a player. If he fails, it will be because the Cardinals were not smart enough to find ways to play to his strengths vs his weaknesses. I think Seattle, San Francisco and LA will target him. I think they will target his size, inexperience and lack of instincts. Simmons is a tremendous athlete and seems to be a good kid. Hopefully we don't mess this up.

Crazy how the Browns and Bucs both made the playoffs and the Cardinals missed even with "the eraser" and "the tiger king". So much excitement that turned into frustration. I am curious to see if anything significantly changes in year 2.

Sooner's concerns about Vance in here as well.

Learn for your past mistakes or you are destined to repeat them.

 

[Garthshort]

I thought Wirfs was selected before we picked.

 

[GuernseyCard]

I thought Wirfs was selected before we picked.

#13

 

[Dr. Jones]

This gets so frustrating. I get the idea of going back and re-examining choices but this seems super stupid to me.

On that day, there was (in my opinion) no legitimate argument for taking Wirfs over Simmons.

Sure..... looking back on it, Wirfs had a better year 1. I get it. But on that day, there was no way Simmons wasn't the best choice for this team.

And getting Jones in the 3rd was a coup!

This is just petty to me. Especially when you compare it to the Browns (did a lot more than add Wills) and Bucs (did even more than the Browns).

 

[Dr. Jones]

Davis over AP? sure.
Floyd over DeCastro? I get it.

This one...... No way.

 

[Chopper0080]

This gets so frustrating. I get the idea of going back and re-examining choices but this seems super stupid to me.

On that day, there was (in my opinion) no legitimate argument for taking Wirfs over Simmons.

Sure..... looking back on it, Wirfs had a better year 1. I get it. But on that day, there was no way Simmons wasn't the best choice for this team.

And getting Jones in the 3rd was a coup!

This is just petty to me. Especially when you compare it to the Browns (did a lot more than add Wills) and Bucs (did even more than the Browns).

What is frustrating for me is constantly having offensive line issues and yet instead of addressing it, you take positionless players on defense.

I am trying to decide if Isaiah Simmons is the Reggie Bush of modern defensive draft selections. Both were taken very high based upon electric college careers. Both have a play style and play a position that may make it impossible to ever live up to their draft hype and position.

 

[Chopper0080]

I guess this would be the HOF stat line that Simmons needs to hit. Over 12 seasons (I threw out the injury year), Brian Urlacher averaged this line.

1.8 Ints
7.5 Passes defensed
3.45 sacks
11.5 TFL
87.1 solo tackles

Good news. In his very limited rookie season, Simmons did show as a playmaker.
1 Int
2 Passes defensed
2 sacks
4 TFL
43 solo tackles

 

[Zeem_Freeze]

I guess this would be the HOF stat line that Simmons needs to hit. Over 12 seasons (I threw out the injury year), Brian Urlacher averaged this line.

1.8 Ints
7.5 Passes defensed
3.45 sacks
11.5 TFL
87.1 solo tackles

Good news. In his very limited rookie season, Simmons did show as a playmaker.
1 Int
2 Passes defensed
2 sacks
4 TFL
43 solo tackles

also have to remember he was drafted during Covid and his rookie class went through the worst onboarding process in NFL history... that has to count for something

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Davis over AP? sure.
Floyd over DeCastro? I get it.

This one...... No way.

You don't get it? You forgot how bad we struggled to cover TEs the year before, or did you wipe that from your memory?

 

[GuernseyCard]

You don't get it? You forgot how bad we struggled to cover TEs the year before, or did you wipe that from your memory?

You misunderstood his meaning.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

You misunderstood his meaning.

Probably. Nothing else makes sense.

 

[HairZach]

2nd half of the season it seemed like Vance was using Simmons properly and he just wasn't that great. Blaming his performance on Vance being a bad DC seems like the wrong take to me. I still think he will develop into the difference maker we need next season. So far it seems like players do much better in year 2 of Vance's system. He has the speed.

Anyone sore about Simmons over Wirfs should see that Odukah taken at 3 by the Lions was one of the worst corners in the league last year and Andrew Thomas taken at 4 was a human turnstile for most of last season who gave up 5 sacks to Reddick. No one knows who is ready to be elite year 1.

 

[Garthshort]

#13

Guernsey, thanks.

 

[Dr. Jones]

You don't get it? You forgot how bad we struggled to cover TEs the year before, or did you wipe that from your memory?

You misunderstood his meaning.

Probably. Nothing else makes sense.

Yep. I will never forget how bad our TE coverage was. PTSD is real!

 

[Chopper0080]

Yep. I will never forget how bad our TE coverage was. PTSD is real!

That is how I feel when I watch us try to execute our offense behind our average to crappy offensive lines every year.

 

[akg102]

2nd half of the season it seemed like Vance was using Simmons properly and he just wasn't that great. Blaming his performance on Vance being a bad DC seems like the wrong take to me. I still think he will develop into the difference maker we need next season. So far it seems like players do much better in year 2 of Vance's system. He has the speed.

Anyone sore about Simmons over Wirfs should see that Odukah taken at 3 by the Lions was one of the worst corners in the league last year and Andrew Thomas taken at 4 was a human turnstile for most of last season who gave up 5 sacks to Reddick. No one knows who is ready to be elite year 1.

Exactly.....and how many times do we see people clamoring for position of need. "We need OL. We need a CB." You get disappointment year after year. On the flip side, drafting BPA relies purely on player evaluation, which our front office fails at continually.

As long as this FO is drafting, trade all picks after rd1 for mid-tier, proven talent. At least in rd1 you can get lucky and draft a freak.

 

[Ronin]

“He got off to a slow start last year, no doubt about it,” Trotter said on NFL Network. “But Vance told me if you track him from training camp all the way to the end of the season that he was the best rookie defensive player in the league last year.”

Isaiah Simmons was best defensive rookie at end of 2020, says Cardinals DC (yahoo.com)

 

[imaCafan]

I thought if you’re drafting BPA/need combo that Simmons was by far the better pick for us. Whirfs would, for the above draft formula, have been a bit of a reach.

 

[DVontel]

I thought if you’re drafting BPA/need combo that Simmons was by far the better pick for us. Whirfs would, for the above draft formula, have been a bit of a reach.

Problem is that he arguably wasn’t BPA & position value of a OT(even RT), is still higher than a off-ball Linebacker.

 

[imaCafan]

Just going by the mock drafts (cause I know zero about college players) Simmons was mocked before Whirfs almost every time. Sometimes Whirfs was mocked to us, but Simmons was gone by our pick in those mocks. Of course I’m going by memory (I’m 64) so who knows how accurate my memory is.

 

[Garthshort]

Just going by the mock drafts (cause I know zero about college players) Simmons was mocked before Whirfs almost every time. Sometimes Whirfs was mocked to us, but Simmons was gone by our pick in those mocks. Of course I’m going by memory (I’m 64) so who knows how accurate my memory is.

Since you're almost still a kid, I'll say that your memory is pretty good.

 

[Finito]

Problem is that he arguably wasn’t BPA & position value of a OT(even RT), is still higher than a off-ball Linebacker.

Simmons wasn’t BPA? Cause he was.

he was rated above all those offensive lineman