Arizona Cardinals: Isaiah Simmons must find a way to improve

While you cannot pin the Arizona Cardinals 44-21 loss to the Chiefs on any one player, linebacker Isaiah Simmons failed his first test of the year. 

Isaiah Simmons was supposed to be a queen on the Arizona Cardinals chessboard when they drafted him with the eighth overall pick in 2020. Through his first two seasons and yesterday’s contest against the Kansas City Chiefs, Simmons has looked more like a pawn.

Touted as one of the NFL’s most versatile players, Simmons failed his first test when he was unable to cover Travis Kelce in the end zone early in the contest. On the ensuing touchdown reception, his 4.39 speed was nonexistent.

Last week, I stated Simmons needed to be the game’s X-factor. And the easy touchdown pass to Kelce is exactly what defensive coordinator Vance Joseph needed him to prevent to give the Cardinals a chance to win. Yes, they were banged up, but Simmons, a top ten pick, played more like a reserve in Week 1. Allowing the Kelce reception was just one reason he flunked his first test of the year.

Arizona Cardinals linebacker Isaiah Simmons looked lost in the Week 1 debacle to the Kansas City Chiefs.

At the end of the first half, Simmons’ stat line included just one tackle. He finished with three on the day while teammate Zaven Collins actually looked somewhat impressive in the run defense with seven combined tackles, including two for a loss. Problem was, Collins also struggled in coverage.

As mentioned earlier, when your team allows 44 points in a single contest, you can’t pin the blame on any one player. But Simmons’ performance jumped out at me more than any other. Maybe it was because I took special interest in watching him and Collins this week?

Things won’t get any easier for Simmons in Week 2. If the Cardinals remain thin at corner, they may once again expect him to cover some receivers in specific packages. At the very least, he will have his hands full with another elite tight end in Darren Waller.

(Statistics provided by Pro-Football-Reference)