2020 NFL Draft: Potential first-round targets for Arizona Cardinals

Last offseason, the Cardinals signed former Philadelphia Eagle Jordan Hicks to be their MIKE linebacker going forward. Luckily for Arizona, Hicks enjoyed a career year in 2019, notching 150 combined tackles and played a full 16 games season for the first time since 2016. However, like with some of these other positions, the Cardinals lack true depth.

While the need at inside linebacker isn’t as dire of a need as others, the strong safety position looks even more scarce for Arizona. They tried to solve it by bringing back veteran safety D.J. Swearinger, however, he was released after playing in four games. So how would the Arizona Cardinals address both linebacker and strong safety at the same time? They select Clemson’s  Isaiah Simmons.

Playing safety for three seasons, Simmons made the transition to linebacker for his redshirt junior season in 2019 where became a defensive chess piece for the Tigers. During the 2020 National Championship, Simmons played everywhere, from inside linebacker to slot corner. Showing great range, awareness and sound tackling technique, Simmons is one of the most intriguing prospects in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Given their draft history, the Arizona Cardinals aren’t divorced from the idea of taking versatile defensive players. In 2017, they selected Temple linebacker Hasaan Reddick with the 13th pick in the first round while in 2014 they took Washington defensive Deone Buchannan with the 27th overall selection. While both of them haven’t quite panned out, Simmons is a different kind of talent and could be a home run for the Arizona defense.