Jeremy Chinn outplaying Isaiah Simmons and other rookie surprises

1. Isaiah Simmons getting outplayed by almost everyone

It’s not just Jeremy Chinn of the Carolina Panthers outplaying former Clemson superstar Isaiah Simmons — it’s nearly every rookie defender.

Not only are these guys outplaying Simmons in terms of on-field performance, they are literally outplaying him. By a lot.

Simmons has just 57 defensive snaps in five games. How is that possible? What is Vance Joseph doing? Is Simmons not fully healthy?

It’s hard to know exactly what’s going on here because Simmons is simply not seeing snaps, but the Carolina Panthers, on the other hand, have unleashed Jeremy Chinn so far in his rookie campaign.

Chinn is leading all rookie defensive players with 44 total tackles in five games so far, and he’s proven to be a difference maker coming out of Southern Illinois. The reason he is being compared with Simmons is that both players played versatile roles in college and both have exceptional size and athleticism.

There was some thinking that if you missed on Simmons in round one, you could get yourself a bargain version with Chinn in round two.

Again, usage and coaching matters here, but it’s fascinating that Chinn has so substantially outplayed Simmons up to this point, even just five games in.