2020 NFL Draft: Grading every first-round pick after rookie year

Grading every rookie from the 2020 NFL Draft: 8. Isaiah Simmons, LB, Arizona Cardinals

2020 stats:

• 54 total tackles
• 2 sacks
• 1 INT
• 1 forced fumble
• 1 fumble recovered

There are bad starts to an NFL season and then there’s the kind of start that Isaiah Simmons had which was abysmal. For the most part, though, it wasn’t his fault. The new face in the locker room simply couldn’t get much playing time on the field due to who was ahead of him.

In fact, in three of his seven games, Simmons might as well have not played at all. In those aforementioned seven games, Simmons was deployed onto the field less than ten times each game. As a rookie trying to find his footing in the league, he was given no time to get comfortable.

During the second half however, things really started looking up. For whatever reason, Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph decided to roll the dice on his young player. He was immediately rewarded as Simmons began making plays all over the field.

With essentially half a season played, Simmons still managed to score 54 total tackles on the year. He also got his paws on the quarterback before he had a chance to throw the ball away on two occasions. In totality, his numbers don’t jump off the page but considering where he started his year to where he ended it, the progress is clear as day.

Now that his defensive coordinator knows he can trust him, you can expect Simmons to make a big leap in year two.

Grade: B