Redraft of 2020 first round has Arizona Cardinals going with All-Pro D-lineman
The Arizona Cardinals used the eighth overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft to select linebacker Isaiah Simmons. It was a pick that didn't work out too well. He had a couple of productive seasons and then didn't fit in the defense when Jonathan Gannon became head coach. Since then, he has done very little.
In hindsight, the Cardinals should have gone a different direction. They could have receiver CeeDee Lamb or tackle Tristan Wirfs.
But in a redraft of the first round of the 2020 draft by Pro Football Network, they don't go with either one of those players as Wirfs and Lamb go in the two previous picks.
Instead, the Cardinals get defensive lineman Nnamdi Madubuike, known previously as Justin Madubuike.
Madubuike has turned into one of the best interior defensive linemen in the NFL, as he's combined for 19.5 sacks and two Pro Bowls within the last two seasons.
Imagine Madubuike in the middle of the defense. The Cardinals have struggled on the defensive interior.
Of course, Madubuike was drafted in the third round, so literally no one saw him doing what he is doing now.
It is undeniable that he would have been a better pick in hindsight.
Considering the need the Cardinals had at receiver, they could have had Lamb or Brandon Aiyuk.
Either way, Simmons wasn't it.
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
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