GREEN BAY \u2014 To Josh Jacobs, it was as if Isaiah Simmons had appeared out of thin air.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One moment, the Green Bay Packers running back was taking his first steps into his route for a screen pass. A split-second later, Simmons was already blowing the whole thing up \u2014 just as he\u2019d done on a toss play to Jacobs earlier in Wednesday\u2019s first practice of training camp.<\/p>\n
Now, the same requisite caveat regarding the first three practices of summer applied to the plays Simmons had made \u2014 and that same stipulation was needed for the play he made a day later, when his tip of a Malik Willis pass resulted in a Carrington Valentine interception: The helmets-jerseys-shorts workouts are non-contact, and things don\u2019t get real (or closer to real, anyway) until the pads come on.<\/p>\n
But if Simmons, who is lining up primarily at Sam linebacker after playing just about everywhere but defensive tackle in his previous NFL stops with the Arizona Cardinals and New York Giants, can sustain the level of play he showed over the first three days of camp, the Packers just might have a field-tilting defensive weapon on their hands.<\/p>\n
The 6-foot-4, 238-pound Simmons certainly has made a believer out of Jacobs, who was so impressed that he was actually looking forward to seeing Simmons in Sunday\u2019s first in-pads practice of camp.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s kind of a unicorn at that position,\u201d Jacobs said with a hint of awe in his voice. \u201cHe can run. We can put him out on guys in the slot. He can cover guys. Really, I just can\u2019t wait to see him in pads. I want to see how physical he is. I\u2019ve played against him a couple times, so I know what kind of player he is, but it\u2019s different when you see it on a day-to-day basis.\u201d<\/p>\n
Added safety Xavier McKinney, who overlapped with Simmons for one year with the Giants in 2023: \u201cHe\u2019s a talented player. I played with him in New York, so I know what he can do, I know what he\u2019s capable of. Even before we signed him, I was talking to [the Packers\u2019 front office] about him and I\u2019m like, \u2018He can add value to our team. You can put him anywhere on the field and he can be productive.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t really see \u2018backers like him with his size, his length that can run, that can cover, that can tackle \u2014 can really do all those things and be productive. He\u2019s going to be a big part of our defense and he\u2019s going to help us a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
At this point, given Jacobs\u2019 and McKinney\u2019s rave reviews, one might wonder how the No. 8 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft was available for the Packers to scoop up this offseason \u2014 much less at the NFL minimum salary of $1.170 million with a $167,000 signing bonus.<\/p>\n
To hear Simmons tell it, the reason \u2014 as well as the reason why he believes he will be far more successful in Green Bay \u2014 is that he was a victim of his own versatility during his stops with the Cardinals and Giants.<\/p>\n
Because he could line up in a myriad of spots \u2014 from linebacker to safety to slot cornerback to edge rusher \u2014 and the Cardinals especially wanted to utilize him in so many different ways, he never found the balance and confidence he needed to thrive at one position.<\/p>\n
But Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley and linebackers coach Sean Duggan aren\u2019t doing that. At least, not yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like it\u2019s been beneficial to me so far, just allowing me to really learn one thing opposed to learning this today, something else tomorrow and who knows what the next day. I\u2019m really appreciative of that,\u201d Simmons said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I ran into most of my career is, everybody wants me to do everything \u2014 as opposed to letting me get really good at one thing first. I fully believe in Haf\u2019s plan. He\u2019s letting me just lock in and learn a small portion first before we even think about expanding to anything else. That\u2019s something I really appreciate, because I never really had that opportunity to really just hone in on one position.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard enough to get into the NFL let alone stay, as well as be effective at a position, so just being able to lock in on one thing and do that 1\/11th every day, I mean, that\u2019s been I feel like huge for me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat hasn\u2019t been presented to me [before] because my versatility, I feel like it\u2019s a little bit of a gift and a curse, where they want you to do everything. But at the end of the day I\u2019m still a human.\u201d<\/p>\n
With maybe some unicorn blood coursing through his veins.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, you see him, and there’s a reason he was a top 10 pick,\u201d head coach Matt LaFleur marveled. \u201cHe’s got all the measurables, and it’s just getting him acclimated with our system and knowing what he can do and try to put him in some advantageous positions where he can really showcase his talent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked exactly how he envisions deploying Simmons, LaFleur replied with a smirk, \u201cWell, I’m not going to give you the game plan on that. It\u2019s a work in progress.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019ll be interesting to see just what that game plan for Simmons looks like. The Packers seem to have struck gold with 2024 second-round pick Edgerrin Cooper, they brought back steady Isaiah McDuffie in free agency and they still believe in 2022 first-round pick Quay Walker, who appeared to turn a corner in Hafley\u2019s defense during the second half of the season before being felled by a December ankle injury.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, when I came here, they were nothing but upfront,\u201d said Simmons, who figures to be one of special-teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia\u2019s coverage unit contributors as well. \u201cThey were like, \u2018We\u2019re just going to be completely candid. Most of our guys are coming back. There are a few pieces that we need, and you happen to be one of them.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cPersonally, I feel like I\u2019m a guy who can be a top guy in this league, so my mind will never change with that. At this point, I feel like the sky\u2019s the limit and I\u2019ve got nothing to do but grow.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Simmons wasn\u2019t a game-changing player for the Cardinals before they traded him to the Giants for a seventh-round pick at the end of training camp in 2023, it wasn\u2019t as if he was completely unproductive.<\/p>\n
He had a 105-tackle season in 2021, had an interception that he returned for a touchdown in both the 2022 and 2023 seasons, and over his five-year career, he\u2019s amassed 329 tackles, 8.5 sacks, 13 quarterback hits, nine forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and the two INTs. He\u2019s also been durable, playing in all 84 games over those five years.<\/p>\n
But he fell out of favor with the Giants last season, playing just 181 snaps on defense (17%) and 146 on special teams (33%).<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the season ended, I looked at myself in the mirror and said, \u2018This will never happen again,\u2019\u201d Simmons said. \u201cAt the end of the day, coaches make the decisions, but it\u2019s up to me to make the decision hard for them. I vowed to myself that I would make the decision tough for every single coach in the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s been times where maybe self-doubt [crept in], but \u2026 I know who I am as a person, I know what I can do on the field. I\u2019ve done it, people have seen it. It has been frustrating but, ultimately, I try to treat everything as a lesson. You can either take it and build from it, or you can let it hold you down.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m actually very grateful for New York for what they did. They lit a fire under me, and I\u2019m ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
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