Simmons at safety is a scarier thought than ILB. I think if you’re taking a shot in the dark it should be EDGE. I really don’t know what to think about Zaven at this point. At least Vance trusted Simmons a little bit his rookie year.
Simmons is never going to be an EDGE. Apart from being 15-20lbs undersized he has zero pass rush skills. And for me his frame is already maxed out.
I've always argued he's a strong safety. Being that little further back from the ball means he can see where the play is going and use his speed to close it down. Removing that gap responsibility or man cover responsibility from him frees him up to use in a number of different ways.
I really don't understand what happened with Collins. One thing I can tell you will absolutely certainty is that rookie Collins played far better than rookie Simmons through their early games. I just don't get why his snaps tailed off while Simmons increased in his rookie season.
The only thing I can think of is that it was because we were actually challenging for the division this year and Vance didn't want to risk blowing it with rookie mistakes. But we were in the playoff hunt in Simmons rookie season and it didn't stop him them. Just weird.
I actually thought we drafted Zaven to convert to OLB. He's made for that position. 257lb that runs 4.65 and can drop into coverage is everything you want physically in a 3-4 OLB. Just got to teach him the techniques.
But now they already said they want him at ILB I really don't want to dick him around again like various other rookies before him.