Arizona Cardinals: What is going on with Isaiah Simmons?

Arizona Cardinals LB Isaiah Simmons. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Where in the world is Isaiah Simmons with the Arizona Cardinals?

Coming out of college, there may not have been a more exciting player to watch leading up to the 2020 NFL Draft than Clemson defensive weapon Isaiah Simmons. After he blew up the NFL Scouting Combine with his insane testing numbers and a dashing 9.97 Relative Athletic Score (RAS), the Arizona Cardinals selected him with the eighth overall pick in the draft.

Now through three games of his professional career with the Cardinals, the question must be asked: where is Simmons? As the Cardinals roll into Week 4 with a 2-1 record, Simmons has only played a total of 35 defensive snap, averaging out to just 18 percent of the defensive snaps for defensive coordinator Vance Joseph’s unit.

Why can’t Isaiah Simmons see the field?

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Coming to the NFL is a beast for any prospect making that leap, however selected as the eighth overall pick in the draft, especially at the linebacker position, may are expected to start day one. While Simmons has taken his lumps early, getting beat by San Francisco 49ers’ running back Raheem Mostert on a Texas route for a 75 yard score, sitting a player like Simmons undoubtedly makes this Cardinals defense worse.

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 238 pounds, Simmons is made in a lab, and possesses the traits to play sideline-to-sideline. So why can’t he get on the field for more than 18 percent of the defensive snaps? One of the biggest hits on Simmons coming out of Clemson was how he would be used in an NFL defense: would he be a safety or would he be a linebacker? This led to the hype on Simmons being a bit overblown pre-season, not knowing where he was going to play.

It appears Joseph is having those same thoughts and has opted for pure safeties and pure linebackers over him.

The problem with this line of thought for the Cardinals

Who cares if Simmons does not have a true position. At his size and length, he is the size of a linebacker (bigger than a majority) with more athleticism than most safeties. If a defensive coordinator cannot find a role for a player like this to thrive, then that is more on the coach than the player.

It appears, however, the Cardinals are making a slight pivot as Simmons may not be moving predominantly to safety after taking some lumps at the second level. However, the Cardinals may be doing it more out of necessity with Budda Baker and Chris Banjo out than out of a willingness to adapt their scheme to the talent of their players.

What is the solution to this issue?

The Cardinals have to get Isaiah Simmons on the field. Plain and simple. You have one of the most tantalizing defensive weapons fall into your lap, yet you cannot get him on the field because he does not fit the traditional mold of a linebacker or a safety?

Joseph was fired as the head coach of the Denver Broncos after just two years, and at this pace he is going to coach himself out of a job in Arizona as well. It is as simple as this for Joseph: adapt to the modern NFL and to the talent you have at your disposal or you are handicapping your own success.

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It will be interesting to see how Joseph and the Cardinals deploy their first round pick this week against the 1-2 Carolina Panthers. If they were smart, Simmons will see the field on 81 percent of the defensive snaps instead of the current 18 he is seeing at this point in his rookie campaign.

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