This years draft offers a lot of very interesting scenarios for Cardinals fans – there’s a lot of players that would seem to be good fits in that number 8 spot, and unlike last year, they don’t really control their draft destiny.
With that in mind, it is time to run another mock draft simulation to play out a particular scenario. In last week’s simulation, the goal was to see how things played out by taking a wide receiver with their first pick.
This time, I was going to go off the map and see what the top rated defensive player would fall. Either I would go with Isaiah Simmons or Jeff Okudah if they were available, or potentially with Derrick Brown if they both were gone.
The pick ends up being the versatile Simmons, who has been compared to ex-Cardinal Tyrann Mathieu for his ability to play multiple positions as well as Bobby Wagner for his height, weight, speed profile:
Bobby Wagner (241 lbs): 39.5" vert, 11'0" broad
Isaiah Simmons (238 lbs): 39" vert, 11'0" broad https://t.co/P3Oa2ucsMP
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) February 29, 2020
See how this mock draft looks. These are the results.
Round 1: Clemson LB/S Isaiah Simmons
Say what you want about whether Simmons excelled at any one position or whether there is some fear of a repeat of Haason Reddick. Simmons dominated wherever he played in college.
He also had a phenomenal combine where he ran 4.39 on his first 40 attempt:
Isaiah Simmons had one of the more memorable combine workouts for a linebacker in recent memory. His 4.39 40-time was the 2nd-fastest by a LB since 2003, behind only Shaquem Griffin (4.38, 2018).
Simmons finished with a max 99 Athleticism Score based on the NGS linebacker model. pic.twitter.com/2qgDnE17Fg
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) March 1, 2020
Yes, there is reason to wonder whether Vance Joseph can use him at his best, but there is no denying that the NFL is trending towards using players like Simmons. He can also immediately step in and help in any area where the Cardinals really struggled on defense — covering tight ends.
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