Clemson Football: Isaiah Simmons finds perfect home with Arizona Cardinals

Former Clemson football LB/S Isaiah Simmons has found his NFL home. The versatile defender will be taking his talents out west to the Arizona Cardinals.r

Clemson football fans had to wait a little longer than they would’ve liked to hear LB/S Isaiah Simmons‘ name called during the 2020 NFL Draft Thursday night, but it was well worth it.

Simmons, the MVP of the Clemson football defense during the 2019 defense, is the most versatile defensive prospect in this NFL Draft class and there was talk of him going as high as No. 3 with the Detroit Lions.

Isaiah Simmons ran a 4.39 40-yard dash and had a 39-inch vertical jump at the 2020 NFL Combine.

Despite his impressive film and NFL Combine performance, both the New York Giants (No. 4) and Carolina Panthers (No. 7) who were heavily linked to Simmons elected to address other positions.

That left the talented defensive player on the board at pick No. 8 where the Arizona Cardinals finally pulled the trigger.

The Cardinals have some talent in their defensive backfield, but it’s clear that Simmons will be an instant upgrade for their unit. The Cardinals finished with a 5-10 record during the 2019 season, but they are making moves to become contenders in that NFC West division.

Earlier in the offseason, Arizona made a trade to land former Clemson football WR De’Andre Hopkins and got rid of a bad contract in David Johnson.

Now, they’ll add another former Tiger to their roster and all of a sudden, it seems that Arizona has become the new ‘Clemson West.’

Simmons’ versatility, athleticism and physicality was just too much to pass on and it’s clear that he’ll have an opportunity to be a major contributor and develop into an All-Pro defensive player before it’s all said and done.

Simmons finished his Clemson football career with 238 total tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss, 11 sacks and four interceptions.