Every year, when the NFL schedule comes out, there are many aspects to look at and enjoy. One of those aspects is how different teams, some with new coaches and all with new key players via free agency and the draft, will match up in a schematic sense. Game plans change, playbooks are discarded and replaced or considered and expanded, young players are asked to do more than they did last season, still younger players are asked to fit their new certainties, and veterans in new spots are working virtually to take their attributes and fit them to their new surroundings.

With that in mind, here are the most intriguing schematic matchups of the 2020 NFL season:

Week 1: Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers

Some of the reasons these games are going to be fascinating to watch from a schematic perspective is to track how new players are going to be utilized in new environments. Especially some of the incoming rookie class. That leads us to Isaiah Simmons, the do-it-all defender who was drafted eighth overall by the Arizona Cardinals. Last year Simmons was used all over the field in Brent Venables’ 3-1-7 defensive package, and he saw over 100 snaps at the following spots on the field: Free safety, box safety, defensive line (which Pro Football Focus defines as down on the line of scrimmage, even when covering a tight end), and slot cornerback.

After drafting Simmons, Arizona defensive coordinator Vance Joseph had this to say about their newest defender:

His skill set is out of this world. He’s a guy that can solve problems for us, and with his speed and length, he can be an eraser when bad plays happen. The more speed you have, the more guys who can erase bad plays for you on Sundays, it’s always important pieces.

Joseph continued on to highlight what Simmons brings to the table as a potential pass-rusher:

I’ve seen him pass-rush and, obviously, when you’re a blitzer, you have to have some kind of pass-rushing technique. Because if they have a blocker for you — which, in this league, they probably will most of the time — you have to have some technique to make moves and flip the hips to be a pass-rusher. I’ve seen him do that. I’ve also seen him rush when he’s clean, and if a quarterback stands in a pocket clean, I mean, he can finish on quarterbacks.

I’ve seen him also beat backs and tight ends one to one as a pass-rusher, so he’s both. I mean, when you’re that tall and long with that kind of burst, being a blitzer or pass-rusher, it’s kind of one and the same.

Then Joseph waded into what makes Simmons perhaps the prototypical modern defender: His versatility. In today’s NFL, offensive coordinators are trying to design plays and situations that create mismatches, and then exploit them. Throwing out of heavy personnel packages, running out of lighter personnel packages, and using mismatch type players like the George Kittles of the world are a way to accomplish this goal. Joseph pointed directly at Kittle and the San Francisco 49ers to make this point: “We can have a package there where he can walk down over Kittle and then be a strong safety, so with this kid’s skill set, he can do a lot of things.”

As luck would have it, that is exactly who the Cardinals face in their season-opener: Kittle and the San Francisco 49ers.

Kyle Shanahan is exactly the type of offensive mind that Simmons was drafted to help stop. Last season, for example, the 49ers used 21 offensive personnel (two running backs, two wide receivers, one tight end) on 33% of their offensive snaps, the highest percentage of any team in the league. But they often used this package to throw, and San Francisco averaged 9.9 yards per attempt when throwing out of 21 personnel, far above the 7.4 yards per attempt they averaged when throwing out of 11 personnel, the three-receiver package that has become almost a base look for most teams.

How were they able to do this? Because with Kittle and fullback/H-Back Kyle Jusczyck, they can create mismatches with those players on linebackers. What can Simmons do? Use his 4.4 speed to erase such mismatches, exactly what Joseph alluded to in his post-draft discussion.

That is why this Week 1 matchup is a game to watch.