Elijah Simmons is a Monster

[cardinals2025]

great thread title tho - is he dominating the field or have thousands of bottles of lube?

Both.

 

[kerouac9]

Yeah similar to the Michael Carter situation last year, although I still don't know how he wasn't picked up off our practice squad. He is a borderline RB 1 for some teams.

Bruh. I have 18 weeks of evidence pointing to that not being the case.

 

[cardinals2025]

Bruh. I have 18 weeks of evidence pointing to that not being the case.

From 2023?

Or is this just semantics again? Tell me how he hasn't played at the level of a backup RB on half the teams in the NFL rn for his career.

I will wait.

 

[kerouac9]

From 2023?

Or is this just semantics again? Tell me how he hasn't played at the level of a backup RB on half the teams in the NFL rn for his career.

I will wait.

Your and my opinion doesn't matter. He wasn't good enough to be RB3 for this team, and 31 other teams had the option to make him their RB3 and decided not to.

The math on this isn't hard.

 

[cardinals2025]

Your and my opinion doesn't matter. He wasn't good enough to be RB3 for this team, and 31 other teams had the option to make him their RB3 and decided not to.

The math on this isn't hard.

Some of them have enough RBs. The others are blind.

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31 teams passed on J.K. Dobbins multiple times until Harbaugh made him the starter on LAC. This is not unheard of.

Mack Wilson, Chad Ryland, Starling Thomas, Evan Brown etc.

God if you already know everyone on every practice squad sucks why don't you become a player evaluator.

People would pay for that knowledge.

Stop arguing for no reason. You are literally just trying to pick a fight with me. Your logic makes no sense.

 

[kerouac9]

Some of them have enough RBs. The others are blind.

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31 teams passed on J.K. Dobbins multiple times until Harbaugh made him the starter on LAC. This is not unheard of.

Mack Wilson, Chad Ryland, Starling Thomas, Evan Brown etc.

God if you already know everyone on every practice squad sucks why don't you become a player evaluator.

People would pay for that knowledge.

Stop arguing for no reason. You are literally just trying to pick a fight with me. Your logic makes no sense.

Bro what are you talking about? It's not like teams haven't had the chance to see this guy. Even the Cards decided he wasn't good enough to protect on the active roster. He was an RB4 for a 4-13 team.

Lots of people thought JK Dobbins was good. He just couldn't stay healthy in Baltimore. He was a former 2nd round pick. He wasn't sitting on Baltimore's practice squad waiting for a call-up.

I think that Michael Carter might be a rosterable player on some teams, but the clear fact is that literally no team wanted him on their active roster, including the Arizona Cardinals, for all but three games last season. That's not a strong argument that he is an RB 1 for some teams, because he very much wasn't.

 

[Syracusecards]

He can be our Jalen Hurts on short yardage!

 

[Mainstreet]

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Elijah Simmons is a monster. If we have injuries on the DL he could make the team and if not, hopefully stays with the practice squad.

Undrafted FA is 6 1' 334.

Maybe could make the team as 3rd or 4th string DT.

Calais said in his recent press conference that he has been getting plenty of snaps with the 1s.

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Okay, those videos were impressive.

 

[BACH]

I think the post I mentioned was about how Starling Thomas got playing time, even though he went undrafted. Not if a player is a good fit, but if he is drafted or not.

Do not disagree, but still do not believe you can make that comparison.

Thomas plays a role where there is 3 players on the field basicly all the time.

The 0/1 spaceeater that has to free up other players is probably only needed by 1 player on 75-85% of snaps.

It's just math in terms of how many available snaps there is for a player like Simmons IMO. Thomas stepped into a roles where 3261 snaps are needed. Simmons steps into a role where there is 870 available snaps. (My quick assumption)

Thomas didn't have the same line-up in front of him as Simmons has.

Tomlinson is the #1 space eater. Jones played that role in Chicago and last year. Jones and Tomlinson both a some pass rush skills, that Simmons do not have. So he would have to outperform both of them to an extend that would negate the flexibility that they provide or Simmons doesn't make the team. That is not happening IMO. Especially not in a room as filled as the DT room is.

I doubt there would be a run for undrafted NT on the PS in a league where that skillset is becoming less and less used. So my guess is that he's there to be stashed away on the PS with the hope he can develop into the back-up rotational Space-eater.

 

[BACH]

Yeah similar to the Michael Carter situation last year, although I still don't know how he wasn't picked up off our practice squad. He is a borderline RB 1 for some teams.

I like the dedication to making sure our depth is covered especially when our entire DL was injured within the first few weeks last year.

Considering that he was cut from the Jets and was available on our PS for the entire season without being signed this is clearly NOT how NFL teams see it.

Don't get me wrong. I like Carter, but RBs are in abundance compared to all other positions.

 

[Chopper0080]

This is a very disciplined group of guys. If you ask Calais about someone, he's gonna say something nice.

True but it's not like it was created out of thin air like some of the Walter stuff was.

 

[Stout]

True but it's not like it was created out of thin air like some of the Walter stuff was.

The insane trade proposals and the sheer pearl-clutching outrage when people disagreed were amusing.

 

[Gandhi]

Do not disagree, but still do not believe you can make that comparison.

Thomas plays a role where there is 3 players on the field basicly all the time.

The 0/1 spaceeater that has to free up other players is probably only needed by 1 player on 75-85% of snaps.

It's just math in terms of how many available snaps there is for a player like Simmons IMO. Thomas stepped into a roles where 3261 snaps are needed. Simmons steps into a role where there is 870 available snaps. (My quick assumption)

Thomas didn't have the same line-up in front of him as Simmons has.

Tomlinson is the #1 space eater. Jones played that role in Chicago and last year. Jones and Tomlinson both a some pass rush skills, that Simmons do not have. So he would have to outperform both of them to an extend that would negate the flexibility that they provide or Simmons doesn't make the team. That is not happening IMO. Especially not in a room as filled as the DT room is.

I doubt there would be a run for undrafted NT on the PS in a league where that skillset is becoming less and less used. So my guess is that he's there to be stashed away on the PS with the hope he can develop into the back-up rotational Space-eater.

I agree. It was just not the topic I answered.

 

[Gandhi]

LOL, nobody is saying that there is ZERO chance of him ever succeeding, but the odds are vanishingly slim. Calling an undrafted college non-performer a monster is pretty silly.

I don't know, man. If you look in some of the threads after the draft, I think there were definately some with the opinion. I don't want to throw anyone under the bus, but I can at least give some quotes:

"Never get excited about UDFAs as few even make the practice squad."

"Not that he has a realistic chance but the Simmons kid looks pretty quick for someone his size."

"I don’t think they can teach him enough in one summer to even put him the Practice Squad."

"The only guy with a chance to make the roster is the WR. The rest have little chance barring a miracle."

"I don't get the Simmons hype. He has zero chance of making the 53 unless someone is injured (and even then it's slim), and his Vols highlights are meh. Ten a penny player. Fat dude without much talent."

 

[RON_IN_OC]

I also think our defense has a very specific 4th down package. Where you will see players like Rabbit, Dante Stills and Owen Pappoe (who is excellent in man coverage). So like when Gannon says Elijah Jones is practicing well and is getting snaps with the 4th down situations, its pretty meaningful. I am
sure on 4th and 3 last year, we sometimes had 8 players who could cover man to man which really disguises who is blitzing and who isn’t. It is the type of situation where the offense is looking for a quick hitter. Budda was often lurking as a LB or covering and shutting down someone like Cooper Kupp which he did multiple times on 4th down in week 2.

Agreed. We all should know by now that Gannon is pretty transparent with how he speaks. If he's praising the kid, it's probably meaningful. It doesn't mean he's ready to make the team, but it does mean he's meeting or exceeding expectations.

 

[BritCard]

Did Walter force Calais Campbell to say the things he said about Simmons? I feel that is where this newest thread is generating from.

What's he going to say? He sucks? Calais sees himself as the leader of that room, he's going to big guys up. More chance of Simmons never taking an NFL snap than making the roster.

 

[CardNots]

What's he going to say? He sucks?

nothing

Calais sees himself as the leader of that room, he's going to big guys up.

nope

More chance of Simmons never taking an NFL snap than making the roster.

so your calling this or grandstanding?

 

[cardinals2025]

What's he going to say? He sucks? Calais sees himself as the leader of that room, he's going to big guys up. More chance of Simmons never taking an NFL snap than making the roster.

I think Calais wants to be a leader first and firemost so he likes looking for potential in people whether it is completely realistic or a stretch. Optimism is attractive to most people.

Also, I doubt anyone is making a 6 foot 8 18 year veteran say certain things he doesn't believe.

Even if he never takes a snap. Calais is trying to get into his head in a good way. Maybe even motivate him to try harder cuz he knows how difficult it is.

The quote was longer in Campbell's interview than what was cut out on twitter too btw. And I think Gannon likes throwing people into the fire with the 1st team just to see what they can do.

Xavier Weaver (undrafted) was a big talk of the town last year before preseason for the catches he was making...he ended up playing limited snaps in 1 game when Harrison got hurt vs GB.

 

[Chopper0080]

What's he going to say? He sucks? Calais sees himself as the leader of that room, he's going to big guys up. More chance of Simmons never taking an NFL snap than making the roster.

He could have said nothing. And of course you have to take preseason hype with a grain of salt. CC said he was getting a lot of reps. Getting some reps with the 1s. He has good size. Need to make the most of his opportunities. That said, better to get preseason hype than no hype or critical comments. Still an up hill battle for Simmons to make the final 53 just like any UDFA.

 

[BritCard]

so your calling this or grandstanding?

Calling it. Has anyone actually watched Simmons play college ball? There are 200 Simmons every year.

 

[BritCard]

He could have said nothing. And of course you have to take preseason hype with a grain of salt. CC said he was getting a lot of reps. Getting some reps with the 1s. He has good size. Need to make the most of his opportunities. That said, better to get preseason hype than no hype or critical comments. Still an up hill battle for Simmons to make the final 53 just like any UDFA.

He's getting some reps with the ones and a lot of reps overall because he's a fringe guy and they want to test him out. Also have not seen Justin Jones and Bilal Nichols back yet so he's one of few other nose options currently healthy.

He's probably played more snaps than Calais and Tomlinson. That doesn't mean he's better.

What Campbell said was the he's a big boy. He's big and strong and works hard. Which is kind of the minimum you expect of a 320lb NT.

 

[kerouac9]

He's getting some reps with the ones and a lot of reps overall because he's a fringe guy and they want to test him out. Also have not seen Justin Jones and Bilal Nichols back yet so he's one of few other nose options currently healthy.

He's probably played more snaps than Calais and Tomlinson. That doesn't mean he's better.

I'd really ask people to thank carefully about what "reps with the ones" probably means in a minicamp environment.

 

[oaken1]

I'd really ask people to thank carefully about what "reps with the ones" probably means in a minicamp environment.

Maybe it means our interior line is still suspect..and there are lots of 320+ dudes in the NFL...just not on our defense where most guys cap around 310
so they need a big dude to see if our interior line can move him on run plays.
But in most cases it means the staff sees something they like and they need to know if the guy responds quickly to coaching so they can make a decision on whether or not he has a future with the club.
Or it could be both. It never hurts to have a big line plugger sitting in the wings on a league minimum deal.

or...the bitter hateful side of me...says they could be using his big ass to boost the confidence of our young and developing linemen.

 

[CardNots]

But in most cases it means the staff sees something they like and they need to know if the guy responds quickly to coaching so they can make a decision on whether or not he has a future with the club.

bingo

 

[Chopper0080]

He's getting some reps with the ones and a lot of reps overall because he's a fringe guy and they want to test him out. Also have not seen Justin Jones and Bilal Nichols back yet so he's one of few other nose options currently healthy.

He's probably played more snaps than Calais and Tomlinson. That doesn't mean he's better.

What Campbell said was the he's a big boy. He's big and strong and works hard. Which is kind of the minimum you expect of a 320lb NT.

Where has anyone said that Simmons is better? People are speculating that Simmons may battle for a roster or PS squad spot...not being the best IDL on the team.

You are arguing against something no one said or implied.