ARIZONA — Former Arizona Cardinals first-round pick Isaiah Simmons hopes his third opportunity in the NFL will be his best.
Simmons, now with the Green Bay Packers, was once considered to be a rare defensive specimen entering the 2020 NFL Draft. Capable of playing numerous positions, it seemed almost impossible for Simmons to fail.
Yet the unicorn out of Clemson wasn’t able to roam far during his opportunity in the desert, eventually having his fifth-year option declined before being dealt to the New York Giants for a seventh-round pick ahead of 2023 roster cuts.
In a recent interview, Simmons said he believes he wasn’t utilized properly in his prior stops.
When speaking with Green Bay reporters, Simmons – who will exclusively play linebacker for the Packers under defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley – offered the following:
“I think really what I ran into most of my career is everybody wants me to do everything as opposed to letting me get really good at one thing first,” Simmons said (h/t Paul Bretl).
“I fully believe in Haf’s plan. He’s letting me just lock in and learn a small portion first before we even think about expanding to anything else.
“That’s something I really appreciate because I never really had that opportunity to really just hone in on one position. It’s hard enough to get into the NFL let alone stay, as well as be effective at a position, so just being able to lock in on one thing and do that 1/11 every day, I mean that’s been – I feel like – huge for me.”
According to Pro Football Focus, Simmons logged snaps at the following positions in Arizona:
Edge defender, off-ball linebacker, strong safety, free safety, slot defender and boundary cornerback.
At 6-4 with freakish athleticism, Simmons was a Swiss Army Knife that never fully was opened during his stints in Arizona or New York.
After playing off-ball linebacker primarily during his first two years with the Cardinals, a regime change in 2022 saw him transition to more of a slot corner.
There was certainly frustration on both sides when Simmons departed with no true impact felt as a top ten pick, though it’s hard to assess blame to either party.
The Cardinals didn’t exactly allow Simmons to master one spot at a time, instead asking him to play numerous positions as a fresh face in the league.
On the flip side, the allure of taking a player such as Simmons was his ability to be a multi-faceted player, which is something he excelled at during his time in college.
