Second-year head coach Kliff Kingsbury is known for his offense, so it was a bit of a shock when the Arizona Cardinals chose a defensive player with their first pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Many thought that CeeDee Lamb could be the selection, due to his Big 12 ties to Kingsbury and teammate of Kyler Murray. However, you can’t let a player the caliber of Isaiah Simmons slip out of your hands. Especially when defense is critical in the NFC West division.
The Cardinals already have Jordan Hicks and De’Vondre Campbell in the mix at linebacker, so Simmons will likely have to earn reps on the field. Obviously at Clemson, he was used in a wide variety of ways to help out their defense.
With Hicks and Campbell on the inside, they will likely need to get creative with Simmons, and that is where Vance Joseph can get involved. Simmons will likely stay in one position in the NFL, and linebacker makes the most sense. He will need to focus on getting a firm grasp on whats being asked of him.
With his ability and the talent on defense, he will likely see some action at both inside and outside linebacker. On passing downs he could be asked to blitz to create havoc in the backfield. All of these areas are ones that Simmons excelled at for the Clemson Tigers. Kingsbury and the Cardinals might have landed one of the biggest steals of the draft. Now it remains to be seen just how Joseph wants to use him.
