Panthers Passing on Clemson's Isaiah Simmons After He Fell to Them Was a Huge Mistake
An early run on quarterbacks meant do-it-all linebacker Isaiah Simmons was on the board at No. 7 overall for the Carolina Panthers to take.
He was the best player available on most draft boards, but the Panthers viewed the situation differently and shocked fans by selecting defensive tackle Derrick Brown out of Auburn.
The Panthers get a force on the D-Line
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) April 24, 2020
Carolina selects Auburn DL Derrick Brown with the No. 7 pick in the #NFLDraft
(➡️ @Bose ?) pic.twitter.com/vFhYTtNX7y
The retirement of Luke Kuechly opened up a need at linebacker -- specifically, a versatile linebacker like Simmons. The Clemson product is a freak athlete standing at 6-4 and can be plugged in at almost any position on defense.
Instead, the Panthers got their guy in Brown, and Simmons is heading out west to join the Arizona Cardinals.
Arizona picks up a do-it-all defender
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 24, 2020
The Cardinals select Clemson LB Isaiah Simmons with the No. 8 pick in the #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/LoqMyLnRCF
This isn't a knock on Brown at all, either. He's likely going to be a stud. But when a Swiss Army knife like Simmons falls to you after multiple teams decided to fill other needs, you simply have to make that pick.