Arizona Cardinals draft Isaiah Simmons at 8

After months of speculation, the Arizona Cardinals first round pick is in

There it is.  After all the guessing and mock drafting, the Arizona Cardinals have made their first round pick at number 8 official.

Linebacker Isaiah Simmons from Clemson is the guy for the Cardinals.  This pick certainly will make a lot of fans happy.  Some practically were begging for him on social media.

Simmons only drops to 8 honestly based on some luck.  There were teams that needed quarterbacks.  For the Cardinals, clearly the defense was priority.

They could have taken a couple of offensive linemen but instead took care of the middle defense problem they have experienced recently.  No matter how mock drafts went, this is a solid pick for the Cardinals.

Simmons had 104 tackles and 7 sacks for the Tigers last season.  He also had 3 of his 4 collegiate career interceptions in 2019.  He also had a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

This pick will help solidify a defense that mightily struggled in 2019.  A defense that had problems stopping opponents offenses, a big reason for their 10 losses last season.

Now it will be interesting to see how he fits in the middle of a defense that needs to show great improvement if they want to win and contend for a playoff spot in 2020.  The Cardinals have had good luck with Clemson players though in recent past.

Simmons is arguably the best Clemson player though they have taken.  Now the Cardinals can continue to build around him.  We know how challenging the linebacker position has been for the team recently.

At 6’4, 238, Simmons is a monster.  He was the first linebacker to go in the draft.  But what about the offensive linemen?

The Cardinals must have felt the defense was the greater need.  There were still a couple of very good offensive linemen on the board.  Now we look to Friday and Saturday to see if they address the offensive line.