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Arizona Cardinals: Isaiah Simmons from misused to mega star?

By Sayre Bedinger

Arizona Cardinals' Isaiah Simmons (48) has a ball fall to him but can't make the interception against the Eagles during the first half at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. on Dec. 20, 2020.Cardinals Vs Eagles
Arizona Cardinals' Isaiah Simmons (48) has a ball fall to him but can't make the interception against the Eagles during the first half at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. on Dec. 20, 2020.Cardinals Vs Eagles /
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The Arizona Cardinals have one of the most fascinating rosters in the NFL. This is a team with some obvious star power on offense, led by the quarterback/wide receiver duo of Kyler Murray and De’Andre Hopkins, but defensively is where the Arizona Cardinals are going to be really intriguing in 2021.

In the 2021 NFL Draft, the Cardinals used their first-round pick on Tulsa linebacker Zaven Collins. Collins is a pretty rare type of off-ball linebacker with the way he moves sideline-to-sideline with the size of a defensive end.

Collins, a versatile off-ball linebacker and part-time pass rusher joins the versatile Isaiah Simmons, one of the top defensive weapons in the entire 2020 NFL Draft.

Despite being considered a model of versatility and flexibility for a defensive coordinator, Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph either couldn’t figure out how to use Simmons early on in the 2020 season, or Simmons was in the proverbial “dog house” which Joseph has been known to use in the past.

When you draft a guy 8th overall with the talent of Simmons, what valid reason or reasons could you possibly have for not putting that guy on the field for more than 376 snaps over the course of a season?

Arizona Cardinals breakout player: Isaiah Simmons

Despite not even playing 400 defensive snaps as a rookie, Simmons managed to rack up 54 total tackles, four tackles for loss, three QB hits, an interception, two passes broken up, and a forced fumble.

Some guys are lucky to put those kinds of numbers together with 700 snaps.

Hopefully, Joseph will have no issues getting Isaiah Simmons out onto the field for the Arizona Cardinals in the 2021 season. It may not be realistic, but even saying that Simmons could duplicate those numbers in twice the amount of snaps (which would still be less than many full-time defenders who play 900-1,000 snaps), he could realistically be looking at a season with more than 100 tackles, 8 TFL, 4.0 sacks, 2 INTs, 2 FF, and a partridge in a pear tree.

Again, how do you not find a way to get this guy on the field?

There will be no excuse for Simmons sitting around or being relegated to special teams duties this year. He’s a superstar in the making and the Arizona Cardinals have to realize that.

There’s really no time to be messing around and playing games with Simmons’ snaps as the Arizona Cardinals are firmly in a championship window with additions like Hopkins, AJ Green, JJ Watt, and Malcolm Butler.

They need their young players to really step up in a big way, and having Simmons play 800-1,000 snaps this season should only make this team better over the course of a 17-game slate.

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