Taking a look at the reasons the New York Giants could pass on Clemson defender, Isaiah Simmons:
When the Giants hired head coach Joe Judge to be the leader of the franchise moving forward, one of the positive traits he brought from New England was the ability to maximize players on both sides of the ball. His goal is to extract the most value from each positional player, and that fits right in line with Clemson stand out defender Isaiah Simmons in the 2020 NFL draft.
Last season, Simmons posted impressive numbers across the board, suggesting he played multiple spots and succeeded at each one. Over 15 games as a junior, Simmons log 104 total tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss, 8.0 sacks, three interceptions, eight passes defended, and two forced fumbles.
Looking at his sack numbers and ability in coverage, you can conclude that Simmons played all over the defense. That is precisely the type of player that Judge likes, but there are also reasons he could pass on the defender for an offensive tackle. That would be the number one reason the Giants forgo the opportunity to draft a player of his quality, simply because Daniel Jones needs more protection on the offensive line.
Investing a significant draft pick on a passer should force management to build around him, and Jones being sacked 38 times in 2019 suggests that his protection scheme might need reinforcement. His 18 fumbles lead the NFL and is a statistic that needs to decrease significantly next season. That means the New York Giants and general manager Dave Gettleman need to draft a potential left tackle to replace Nate Solder for the future — whether it be in the first or second round.
Another justification to pass on Simmons would be the presence of Ryan Connelly. The Giants drafted Connelly in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL draft, and he posted impressive numbers over four games before suffering a torn ACL against the Washington Redskins in the dying moments.
He recorded 20 combine tackles, two tackles for loss, two passes defended, one sack, and two interceptions. Those are some quality numbers for a rookie mid-round pick and could be enough to convince the Giants brass to give him another opportunity, deciding to pass on Simmons a little more justifiable. However, Isaiah’s attributes eclipse Connelly’s by a fair margin, but again, drafting a tackle to protect Jones could ultimately benefit the team more efficiently in the long run.