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Josh Weinfuss, ESPN Staff Writer
TEMPE, Ariz. — The days of Isaiah Simmons lining up all over the field for the Arizona Cardinals are apparently over.
After spending nearly half of his snaps in 2022 as a defensive back, the No. 8 overall pick from 2020 said this week that he’ll be spending more time this season in the secondary.
“I’ve been with the defensive backs so far, so we’re just kind of taking it from there as of now,” Simmons said before making his official declaration. “So, moving forward, I’ll be with the defensive backs.”
The move didn’t come as a total surprise after he played 423 snaps — or 48.6% — at cornerback and safety last season, according to ESPN Stats & Information. What the decision by Arizona’s new coaching staff does, though, is give Simmons a defensive home. Last season, he showed off his versatility by playing five different positions — including linebacker — a trait that made him appealing for teams coming out of Clemson and led to him being a top pick.
“At the time when he came out, who I was with, we had a vision of how we’re going to use him,” said coach Jonathan Gannon, who was the Indianapolis Colts’ defensive backs coach when Simmons was drafted in 2020. “But everyone has a little bit different vision for everybody.”
Arizona’s vision is to keep Simmons in one position this season.
Simmons, whose fifth-year option was declined by the Cardinals, is coming off a season in which he played 38.8% of his snaps as a slot corner, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. The expectation is for him to continue spending a significant amount of time as the nickel corner. He ended up starting six of the last eight games at defensive back last season.
“I feel like it’s a lot of carryover,” Simmons said.
Then the Cardinals went through a major overhaul, replacing the coaching staff and general manager. The new staff, led by Gannon and first-time defensive coordinator Nick Rallis, wants to keep Simmons in or around the same position instead of having him line up at inside linebacker, which he did for 107 snaps last season, or outside linebacker, which he did for 319 snaps.
Keeping him in one place should have advantages for the 24-year-old, who had 68 tackles, 4.0 sacks, two forced fumbles and two interceptions last season.
“Just nice being able to be in the same room consecutively,” Simmons said.
Playing alongside safeties Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson, Simmons will arguably complete as dynamic of a deep secondary trio as there is in the NFL. Each player brings a different skill set to a defense that’s promised to be varied and fluid week to week.
“I think the sky’s the limit. I really think there isn’t really anything we can’t do,” Simmons said.
“I feel like I believe we could be the best group in the NFL, easily. So, really, we just got to put the work in and put our minds to it.”
He’ll also be allowed to spend most of his time studying and learning one position instead of needing to know how and where to line up for a handful of spots.
Last offseason, Simmons said: “I’ve played multiple positions for as long as you guys have probably known my name. That’s just who I am.”
His teammates embraced Simmons’ ability to play anywhere.
“Isaiah’s been doing what Isaiah has been doing for the last couple of years now,” cornerback Antonio Hamilton said. “So, he’s a special type of talent and just trying to maximize his abilities, and whether that’s at nickel, safety or linebacker, he can do it all.
“And that’s just a great thing about somebody like him. He’s like a unicorn. He can just do it all, and he has the size, and he has all the attributes to be able to do it.”
While Simmons could be used at other spots around the field in a pinch, his outlook, however, has changed.
“Personally, I’d like to master defensive back first before I dive into going with the outside linebackers or whatever else it could come about,” Simmons said this offseason. “So I’d like to be a master at least at everything in the secondary before I get to go in other places.”