Clemson standout linebacker Isaiah Simmons had a brief fall down the board in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, but the Arizona Cardinals are more than glad the 6-foot-4, 230-pound versatile defender fell into their laps with the eighth overall pick on Thursday evening.

Per Sports Illustrated‘s Howard Balzer, Cardinals general manager Steve Keim had this to say on the Simmons selection:

“When you watch him on tape and you see him play the deep middle, the deep half, you see him play in the box, you see him blitz, rush the passer. He’s sort of a Swiss Army knife and does it all and we call that kind of a player an ‘eraser' in this league.”

Simmons has proved he can play virtually anywhere on the gridiron, as he split reps in college for Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers between various positions like linebacker, safety and cornerback.

Some scouts pegged Simmons has a questionable draft prospect due to his unsteady or erratic “position,” but the Cardinals appear to be interested in how the Kansas high-school star could transform Arizona's defense and move into the contemporary NFL with multi-positional athletes on patrol.

Simmons spent his four-year collegiate football career with the Clemson Tigers, winning two national titles (one as a starter) under Swinney. The linebacker/safety had a monster 2019 campaign for the ACC powerhouse, recording 104 total tackles, 16.5 for losses, eight sacks and coming away with two forced fumbles and three interceptions.

While many were clamoring for the Cardinals to take home an offensive tackle or wide receiver to aid rising sophomore quarterback Kyler Murray, it's hard to get mad that the NFC West franchise was able to steal the talent of Simmons.