Isaiah Simmons – ILB (Arizona Cardinals)
2022 Stats:
- 99 tackles
- 2 INT
- 2 forced fumbles
- 4.0 sacks
The Arizona Cardinals are in an interesting spot heading into a new regime. Last season was far from what they expected and now they must shift gears to get back to contention under Jonathon Gannon.
Isaiah Simmons is one of the more versatile defenders in the NFL but he has not truly put it all together just yet. The Cardinals have taken two linebackers in the first round over the past three years. In fact, both of their most recent picks in the first round have been linebackers.
Gannon comes from Philadelphia where that sort of value was not thrown into the linebacker position and leaves some questions regarding the current situation in the desert. Isaiah Simmons is due his fifth-year option next offseason.
Brian Flores has worked with linebackers that fit this mold in recent years. He seems to value middle-of-the-field defenders with speed and range but Simmons might be the most athletic of the bunch.
As the Cardinals look to revamp the roster, Simmons may be the best they have to offer in terms of trade chips. The linebackers in this year’s draft are not quite worth a high pick aside from Trenton Simpson. Minnesota may instead look for value in a trade and fill out the rest of the roster in the draft.