Joe Schoen has done it again. He picked up Isaiah Simmons from AZ for a Round 7 draft pick. Home run move. Monster value.
We urged the Giants to go outside the organization to hire a GM, they went outside to hire Joe Schoen, and Schoen is absolutely killing it as the Giants GM. What a hire. To watch Schoen operate and make these moves, one after another, is amazing. He is ours. Trading a bubkis R7 for Simmons is incredible. I know what you are thinking- what’s wrong with Simmons that he could be had for nothing?! I had to do a reality check too. It’s a free call option.
First things first. Simmons is not the All Pro Hall of Famer that was being touted pre 2020 draft. We know that now. He has played 3 years for the Cardinals, has not been dominant, and they did not pick up the 5th year option. What does Simmons offer the Giants then? A ton. In Wonder’s 2020 Draft Board:
“5. LB Isaiah Simmons. Best value is playing SS in the box. Blitz him unaccounted for. Can cover RBs and TEs, can run blitz. Not an unbelievable pass rusher. Can be neutralized by a big Tackle. Almost wasted at LBer. I do not want him swallowed up by an Offensive Tackle. Needs the right scheme, like Seattle, New Orleans or New England. Move him to LBer and bring in another dimeback. Play him all over the field; his value is how you can’t account for him. Will be grease lightning inside a dome. Comparison: a bigger faster version of Steve Atwater.”
Wonder, UltimateNYG, 4/14/2020
“Needs the right scheme.” Repeat that. Needs. The. Right. Scheme. So what does Wink Martindale provide for Simmons? A new scheme. A new life. A second chance to use Simmons’ talents. Arguably the right scheme. Time will tell, but it is all upside with no downside. What does Wonder think about this move by Schoen to bring in Simmons for a Round 7 pick?
“Steal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He was a STUD. Just has to be healthy and in the right situation,” said the UltimateNYG draft analyst in his instant reaction. More color from Wonder later in this post.
Simmons has been mostly healthy, having started 30 of the last 34 games. Dan Schneier of Big Blue Banter attested to his health and matched speed, with no big injuries. Dan and Nick Falato rave about the move as well, and their comparison of Joe Schoen to Dave Gettleman could not be any more stark.
We need to take a brief tangent for more perspective. So many Giants fans were pining for Simmons predraft in 2020, and it was frankly making me nauseous. You have to go with the Offensive Lineman, we argued. Here we are 3 years later, one guy (Andrew Thomas) is the anchor of our entire Offense, and the other went for a bag of peanuts. At least Gettleman didn’t screw that one up. Now, we got Simmons for that bag of peanuts (R7, 1 year and $1M). Yes, a bag of peanuts.
One of the 6 things we cited for the bear case was the need for another LBer. Simmons does not want to be a LBer, yet he can be the Strong Safety who can cover a RB or TE, or line up like a LBer and rush the QB. With the Giants DL, he can like what Wink does with him anywhere, including LBer.
Simmons is a freak athlete. Measurables alone do not make someone a great football player. Simmons did flash at times for the Cardinals. The talent is there. Wink knows this. He knows how he is going to use Simmons. Justin Penik noted that in 2021 AZ used Simmons for 161 snaps in the slot, whereas in 2022 he was used for 409 snaps in the slot. Wait. Let me understand this. You have a 6’4″ 238 lb behemoth lining up with jitterbug tiny slot guys? Now I can see that being done infrequently just to throw some different looks and perhaps have Simmons blitz from closer to the pocket. Yet, if he is getting ~50-60 snaps per game, that is the equivalent of nearly half a season’s worth of slot. That does not make sense. If Wink makes Simmons make sense, it could be a gold rush.
Wonder: “Arizona had no idea how to use him. He had a very good rookie year. Play him at Strong Safety, bring him in the box. He should NOT be in the slot. I think he became demotivated by the Murray/contract. 7th Round? He is a lot better than that. I like the Giants Over 7.5 now better than at any time. They will use Simmons as a blitzing LBer down in the box, so you do not know if he is coming or not. And he is fine in run support.”
“Neal is getting better, he is going to be fine,” says Wonder. “Kayvon Thibodeaux looked great in the Panthers game. I see 12-13 sacks for Thibs this year. I think he is going to be a beast this year vs the run AND the pass. Simmons will fill the hole or drop off vs teams with good TEs. He has the size and speed for covering the TE. He is going to have some pop plays, but just has to figure out the Defense (because he is coming in without training camp). The Giants only weakness is they are thin at a few positions. So they need to win all the games they can win and pull off a couple of surprises.”
More Wonder on the Giants: “Can their OL hold up? Their schedule is hard. Hyatt was seen as an unpolished route runner coming out of the draft. If he gets the route tree down, he will be very good. The Giants need to survive and play clean vs teams they cannot afford to lose to, like Washington. Ideally, Waller plays 14 out of 17 games.”
Wonder is not as bullish as I am. He does not believe in Bellinger the way I believe in him. He is not yet sold on Hyatt, which is fair considering we saw one preseason game. My divergence is Jones with 12 personnel. I had confidence in Thibodeaux having a good second season so it makes me even more optimistic with Wonder sky high on him. That Defensive front is going to be something special. Add that speed of Okereke plus Simmons and we could see some fireworks. What has been the Giants kryptonite? The TE. Now they have someone who can finally cover a TE. Onward to the Jets preseason.