Simmons Ranked Among NFL ROY Contenders

Former Clemson linebacker is poised for a big first season with the Arizona Cardinals and was recently listed in the top 25 NFL rookies positioned to succeed in 2020.

Isaiah Simmons wasn't drafted eighth overall by the Arizona Cardinals to be a project. 

The former Clemson linebacker is expected to impact and excel right away out in the desert. 

NFL.com certainly agrees as it recently listed the top 25 rookies positioned to succeed in their first season in the league.

Simmons ranked No. 5 overall and was placed in the category of Rookie of the Year contenders as a vital member of a Cardinals defense looking to improve after finishing 23rd in defensive efficiency last season. 

No other Clemson player drafted last month made the top 25. The only players ranked ahead of Simmons were quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (Miami Dolphins), running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire (Kansas City Chiefs), quarterback Joe Burrow (Cincinnati Bengals) and defensive end Chase Young (Washington Redskins). 

Here's what NFL.com's Dan Parr wrote about Simmons:

The Cardinals are planning to play the draft's most versatile defender at linebacker "the majority of the time," according to head coach Kliff Kingsbury. That still leaves the door open for him to move around a bit, whether they're using him as a blitzer, in coverage or as a spy against dual-threat QBs. If Arizona sticks to that script, it's not hard to envision this rare, hybrid talent taking the NFL stage and becoming an immediate terror.

So far, that's the question mark surrounding Simmons: How will the Cardinals use him? Kingsbury wants to start him out at linebacker only and not experiment with playing him as a box safety, which certainly could be in Simmons' future. 

"Our thought process, is if he is really able to focus on one position, having the flexibility to still move around, but really focus on one, what does that look like? And the sky can really be the limit," Kingsbury said earlier this week. "That's why we were so excited about him."

While the Cardinals plan on playing him at one position, clearly they can do many different things with him in the middle of the field, including matching him up on a tight end in coverage. That's something Simmons used at the NFL combine in February to boost his versatility and draft stock. 

The meetings at the #NFLCombine are the most unique & important job interview for any prospect with an NFL dream.

Take an extended, never-before-seen look at the first meeting with our eventual first-round draft pick @isaiahsimmons25 in February in Indianapolis. #CardsFlightPlan

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) May 15, 2020

At Clemson, Simmons began his Clemson career at safety but moved into defensive coordinator Brent Venables' linebacker/safety hybrid role that Simmons took to another level his last two seasons. Playing at all three defensive levels, he led the Tigers in tackles, tackles for a loss and sacks while finishing second in interceptions in 2019, when he was a consensus All-American and ACC Defensive Player of the Year. 

That versatility has already wowed current Arizona teammate Chandler Jones, who said this week that Simmons could be "the face of the NFL." 

"I got a chance to really look at Isaiah Simmons and his highlights and I don't know where we're going to play him," Jones said. "It's exciting to me. Even though we are a team, whenever we can get more guys on our side of the ball, that's great for us. For him to be a top-10 pick, the face of the NFL for sure."