Isaiah Simmons can do a bunch of things on an NFL field.
The issue for the No. 8 overall pick in the 2020 draft? He has yet to do any of them at an elite level.
The Cardinals are moving the versatile Simmons from inside linebacker to safety, and he’s expected to play that position the vast majority of the time in 2023.
“Moving forward I’ll be with the defensive backs.”
Isaiah Simmons officially confirms his position change from LB to DB. pic.twitter.com/MrksrQDk00
— PHNX Cardinals (@PHNX_Cardinals) June 13, 2023
As he enters a contract year, Simmons must find a way to elevate his game, and according to pro scout Damian Parson of the Draft Network, focusing on safety gives him the best shot.
“I was very confused with a lot of the usage of him from the previous staff, so I’m actually really excited to see what Jonathan Gannon can do with him going forward, because I do believe this young man’s career is salvageable,” Parson said. “You’ve just got to put him in advantageous situations.”
Simmons was used primarily at inside linebacker in his first three years, while also seeing time at edge rusher, safety and slot cornerback.
He wasn’t great at any of them, though. Simmons had issues stopping the run at inside linebacker, playing man-coverage in nickel and rushing the passer as a non-blitzer on the edge.
I wonder if Isaiah Simmons will stick at ILB. Seems so comfortable in space and so tentative against the run.
— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) August 21, 2021
Gannon and new GM Monti Ossenfort saw the deficiencies and declined his fifth-year option of $12.7 million for 2024, setting up a contract year for Simmons.
“He’s a jack of all trades, but he was just a master of none,” Parson told me late last week. “I think you get the best potential player by playing him a little further back.”
How can Simmons excel? According to Parson, think of the impact made by Kam Chancellor or Jamal Adams, a pair of safeties not known for their man-coverage skills, but game-changers anyway.
Chancellor was one of the premier enforcers of his era, patrolling the middle of the field with an attitude.
Adams has declined lately, but when he was with the Jets and early in his Seahawks tenure, the athletic dynamo could make a play in deep center field on one snap and get a sack on a blitz the next.
“You can devise a model that fits Isaiah Simmons,” Parson said.
Parson said the Cardinals should look at Kyle Hamilton’s usage by the Baltimore Ravens and mirror that.
“(Simmons) can roam a little bit,” Parsons said. “He can be in the slot, close to the box, a plus-one in the run game where he can help you on the perimeter and set the edge. Squeeze and leverage the ball. But then he can drop off into coverage and also spy those athletic quarterbacks.”
When I watch Kyle Hamilton, I see Isaiah Simmons. Similar measurements with Simmons being a little heavier.
Both are lengthy/linear athletes with an incredible range in coverage.
If Simmons was penciled in as a safety from the start of his college career, I see him like KH!
— Full-Time Dame 💰 (@DP_NFL) October 13, 2021
Simmons is 6-foot-4, which is much taller than a typical safety. He has blazing straight-line speed and fantastic length, but flipping his hips to stay with pass-catchers is an issue.
Parson said it’s on the coaching staff to amplify his strengths and hide the weaknesses.
“If you want to play heavy man (coverage) and walk him down into nickel, that’s probably going to put him in some bad situations,” Parson said. “He’s so big, so tall, so long. He’s not going to be able to transition and move with those guys in press coverage. But if you want to play him off, where he’s five yards off and squatting on routes? You might be able to get away with it, in terms of scheming him in man-coverage.”
Chiefs’ offensive gameplan against the Cardinals was simple: when Arizona played man, throw it to whoever Isaiah Simmons was guarding. When that forced Arizona into their basic spot drop zones (blech), pick them apart in the open spots. Rinse, repeat. (And total incineration.) https://t.co/10yAghP2nA
— Chris B. Brown (@smartfootball) September 15, 2022
Parson said Simmons would be at his best if he can play mostly zone, which would allow him to roam and not match up with jitterbug receivers.
“Kam Chancellor, Jamal Adams, those guys didn’t play man-coverage like that,” Parson said. “They were rovers and played the robber technique, taking away the middle of the field. We know that you’re not a man-cover guy, but you have so many other physical traits that we can deploy.”
Parson still believes Simmons has Pro Bowl upside because of the physical gifts, but he has to make in-roads mentally.
“You want guys reading and reacting, not thinking,” Parson said. “When I’ve watched him, I’ve always seen a guy that’s thinking more than reacting. If he’s going to excel, they need to allow him to get the processing reps (at safety).
“If you’re playing nickel and someone runs a slant, just break on it. Instead, you’re taking two shuffle steps upfield, and you just gave up a 7-yard slant that becomes a 12-yard first down because you’re thinking.”
