Can former top-10 pick Isaiah Simmons be Packers’ secret weapon on defense?
By Matt Schneidman
June 16, 2025 3:00 am PDT
GREEN BAY, Wis. — The No. 8 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft is on his third team in six years.
There are reasons for that, yet Isaiah Simmons is confident Green Bay is where it all will click. Simmons’ calling card is his versatility. Look at how he’s built and you can envision him darting off the edge, covering sideline to sideline in the middle of the defense or patrolling the secondary.
“I don’t think you see a lot of 6-(foot)-4 guys that are 240 pounds that can run a 4.3,” linebackers coach Sean Duggan said.
Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley has used Simmons only at linebacker this offseason, although at the strongside and weakside spots. With Quay Walker nursing an undisclosed injury, Simmons took first-team reps in Green Bay’s base defense alongside Edgerrin Cooper and Isaiah McDuffie.
Simmons might not play every snap this fall, and he isn’t a stone-cold lock to make the team, either. But if anything, the soon-to-be 27-year-old feels better positioned (pun intended) for success than he did in three years with the Arizona Cardinals and two with the New York Giants.
“What I ran into most of my career is everybody wants me to do everything, as opposed to letting me get really good at one thing first,” the former Clemson star said. “I fully believe in Haf’s plan. He’s letting me just lock in and learn a small portion first before we even think about expanding to anything else. That’s something I really appreciate because I never really had that opportunity to really just hone in on one position. It’s 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 … that’s been, I feel like, huge for me.
“My versatility, I feel like it’s a little bit of a gift and a curse.”
According to Pro Football Focus, Simmons played 166 snaps in the box, 137 on the defensive line, 65 at slot corner, eight at outside corner and two at free safety in 2023 with the Giants. After seeing the field for 33 percent of his team’s defensive snaps that year, he played in just 17 percent last season, taking snaps at all those same positions except outside corner. He also played those five spots in each of his three seasons in Arizona, primarily aligning at nickel.
Simmons acknowledged that the start of his career has been frustrating. But in a way, he’s thankful for how the Giants used him — or didn’t.
“They lit a fire under me,” he said, referencing his lack of playing time, which climbed substantially with the Cardinals. “And I’m ready to go.”
“There’s games where maybe I (had), like, three snaps, and they (would) be, like, kickoff, all touchbacks, you know what I’m saying?” Simmons added. “When the season ended, I looked at myself in the mirror and said, ‘This will never happen again.’ At the end of the day, coaches make the decisions, but it’s 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.”
Before signing Simmons, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur consulted safety Xavier McKinney, who joined the Packers in 2023 after playing with Simmons in New York in 2023. LaFleur said McKinney gave the move two thumbs up and vouched for Simmons as a teammate, which was all the head coach needed to hear. Simmons said that vote of confidence meant a lot coming from someone of the reigning first-team All-Pro’s pedigree.
At this point last year, everyone on the Packers defense was learning a new system ahead of Hafley’s first season as coordinator. This year, not every player began on even footing. Simmons arrived in Green Bay this offseason behind the eight ball as a rare veteran newcomer on defense, but focusing on one position has helped his absorption of Hafley’s system. Simmons has also played 563 special teams snaps in his career, so he could help the Packers there, in addition to providing depth and versatility on defense.
“He’s a big, fast, physical guy that can run, and he’s made plays before, so we’re hoping to put him in position to help him help us,” special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia said. “The tape we watched of him coming out of New York, he played special teams the last two years for them and did some good things. He had the big blocked field goal, where he jumped over the center and with the A-gap and made a big play.
“He’s made some other plays as well on defense also, even if you go back to Arizona. And I remember him specifically coming out (of college) and all the plays he made, being a guy that moved around all over the place on defense at Clemson. So, we’re excited about having him here.”
Simmons vowed to never again find himself in a situation like he did with the Giants, but playing time won’t be handed to him on a silver platter — not on a Packers defense that finished last season sixth in points and yards allowed per game and likely will feature 10 returning players in its starting lineup (free-agent signing Nate Hobbs being the 11th starter, at cornerback).
But maybe Simmons will be like former Packers linebacker De’Vondre Campbell, who said playing middle linebacker in his first season with the team, as opposed to the multiple spots he filled with the Atlanta Falcons, helped him make first-team All-Pro in 2021 under then-defensive coordinator Joe Barry.
Perhaps Hafley can make Simmons his own reclamation project who elevates the Packers from playoff hopeful to Super Bowl contender.
“I’m just here to make the decision tough for the coaches because, ultimately, that’s going to make the team better,” Simmons said. “Whatever happens, happens with that. If it comes to where Haf wants to figure something out to get us all going, then that’s up to them. I’m just coming in here to work every day and work my ass off.”
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