It's very early days, but a couple of mocks have paired the Jaguars with Clemson LB/S Isaiah Simmons.

So what do you think of that pick?

On one hand, a fantastic player and able to play a number of positions.

But would our defense make the most of his talents?  And are there bigger needs than a versatile linebacker?

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From a talent and playmaking perspective, I'd love the pick. No questions about it whatsoever. From a fit perspective, I might have questions. Like, does this mean Myles Jack is staying put at the Mike Backer spot? I would hate that honestly.

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From a talent and playmaking perspective, I'd love the pick.  No questions about it whatsoever.  From a fit perspective, I might have questions.  Like, does this mean Myles Jack is staying put at the Mike Backer spot?  I would hate that honestly.

This team doesn't have the luxury to worry about fit. They need playmakers and all-pro talent. If Simmons is the best available, you draft him and make it work.

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From a talent and playmaking perspective, I'd love the pick.  No questions about it whatsoever.  From a fit perspective, I might have questions.  Like, does this mean Myles Jack is staying put at the Mike Backer spot?  I would hate that honestly.

This team doesn't have the luxury to worry about fit. They need playmakers and all-pro talent. If Simmons is the best available, you draft him and make it work.

I generally have this take and I guess since everything will not be fixed in one year then this would be the best move, especially with that first pick.

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I do worry that we wouldn't know how to use him in the myriad of ways he can be used, but we should still obviously be very happy if he's the pick.

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Draft him, sign a serviceable vet like Onwuasor to ILB and move Jack back outside and all of a sudden we have a real good LB core again.

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Draft him, sign a serviceable vet like Onwuasor to ILB and move Jack back outside and all of a sudden we have a real good LB core again.

Which of those are you only playing 30% of snaps. Especially given Onwuasor won't be cheap

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Draft him, sign a serviceable vet like Onwuasor to ILB and move Jack back outside and all of a sudden we have a real good LB core again.

Which of those are you only playing 30% of snaps. Especially given Onwuasor won't be cheap

And he's probably not that good outside of Baltimore.  No thanks.  He is a converted Safety and has shown flashes in Wink Martindale's system but even this year other talent was preferred, which is why the Ravens brought in a street FA in Bynes and made the trade to get Fort.  Onwuasor, IMO would be another Myles Jack here.  And we need more than that at the position.

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With Wash at the helm it's hard to imagine creative usage of Simmons actually happening.

If Simmons played SAM on base downs and "big nickel" some of the nickel downs - could DJ Hayden moved to Free Safety?

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Don't understand the problem with limiting Jack's snaps. Raw talent alone doesn't make a good linebacker. We lost big on that contract gamble. Sunk cost. Sit him or move him, if you can.

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"You do your own thing in your own time. You should be proud."

The more I think about it, I think Simmons could fit our roster.

Whatever his faults, Myles Jack also has the flexibility to play in a number of spots and Josh Allen can be moved back to linebacker in the right circumstances.

Depending on whether we play 3-4 or 4-3 or a mixture of both, we could see Jack, Simmons and Allen all lining up together, or with another LB.

Although this does rely on our coaching team having the flexibility to mix things up a bit.

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From a talent and playmaking perspective, I'd love the pick.  No questions about it whatsoever.  From a fit perspective, I might have questions.  Like, does this mean Myles Jack is staying put at the Mike Backer spot?  I would hate that honestly.

This team doesn't have the luxury to worry about fit. They need playmakers and all-pro talent. If Simmons is the best available, you draft him and make it work.

That's nice to say, "draft him and make it work," but I still have qualms about constructing a team of mis-matched parts- two of one thing and none of another.   The best scenario at LB would be to move Jack to WLB and get a MLB.  Then you have matched parts and are building a team that makes sense.  But to have multiple WLBs and no MLB, plus needs everywhere else, that doesn't make sense to me.  There has to be a better alternative at the 9th pick.

Besides, I think we get so sold on these guys being "perennial all-pros," when Simmons might be just marginally better than the next guy who actually fills a hole in the roster.  And the amount that he is supposedly better than the next guy is probably within a margin of error.  What if the "next best player" on the board is OT Andrew Thomas, for example?  Do we need to have multiple WLBs- Jack, Simmons, backed up by Quincy Williams, when we have holes, literally no one, in other positions?  Are we so certain that Isiah Simmons is so much better than the next guy that we leave a hole in the roster in order to draft him?

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The more I think about it, I think Simmons could fit our roster.

Simmons played 15% or more of his snaps at each of LB, EDGE, nickelback, and safety. He can fit every single roster in the NFL.

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Todd Wash shouldn't be a factor in who we select also

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I'm totally conflicted about Simmons, I've already changed my mind several times on whether he would be a good pick at 9 for us. I worry that our coaching would just try to shoe-horn him in at MLB or WLB and ignore his biggest strength which is versatility. I'm sure he has the tools to be adequate at least at any spot, but he could be an absolute game changer in the hands of a creative defensive coach. Wash sure ain't that.

Ultimately, I'm pretty sure there will be players at 9 that I would take over Simmons, but he is an elite talent and I'd be fine with it if they decided to go that way.

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I'm totally conflicted about Simmons, I've already changed my mind several times on whether he would be a good pick at 9 for us. I worry that our coaching would just try to shoe-horn him in at MLB or WLB and ignore his biggest strength which is versatility. I'm sure he has the tools to be adequate at least at any spot, but he could be an absolute game changer in the hands of a creative defensive coach. Wash sure ain't that.

Ultimately, I'm pretty sure there will be players at 9 that I would take over Simmons, but he is an elite talent and I'd be fine with it if they decided to go that way.

I hear you. I get that. He reminds me a lot of my own Bulldogs Thomas Davis who was pretty much utilized the same way. Carolina was smart with how they used him though. They would move him between OLB and SS in certain situations. A good DC will figure out a way to maximize the talent they have on the field in key situations. 

I agree with JackCity. You can't let Wash dictate the terms on draft night. He's on a short leash along with Marrone. You shouldn't penalize your roster due to lack luster coaching. Jack is playing out of position. Simmons could be forced into a role that's similar as a rookie. But you have to take players that yield the most potential and have high ceilings.  He fits all of that. 

He lined up EVERYWHERE in that championship game.

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"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king."

My chief concern if we draft Simmons is maximizing the talent on our defensive roster and the fact that the task falls on Todd Wash. I'm not saying he wouldn't help our defense, I'm saying it would happen at the price of underutilization of his talent and the talent of other players, at least in the short term.

Trying to develop and place Williams (tweener/SS/WLB), getting the best out of Jack (tweener/WLB), and determining where and when to fit in Simmons (swiss army knife) seems way too tall a task for a coach who still hasn't even figured out what to do with Myles Jack. Throw Ronnie Harrison into the mix and it's even tougher.

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The more I think about it, I think Simmons could fit our roster.

Simmons played 15% or more of his snaps at each of LB, EDGE, nickelback, and safety. He can fit every single roster in the NFL.

Sure, but my point wasn’t that he is versatile. 

It was that we have players who are versatile enough to fit around him and make use of his flexibility.

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I hope we are able to get this guy at 9

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With Wash at the helm it's hard to imagine creative usage of Simmons actually happening.  

If Simmons played SAM on base downs and "big nickel" some of the nickel downs -  could DJ Hayden moved to Free Safety?

I hope not. He's a damn solid nickel, and in today's game, you need a damn solid nickel.

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