While wins and losses obviously don't matter during the preseason, the Green Bay Packers have to be a bit concerned with what went down in an embarrassing 30-10 defeat to the New York Jets this past Saturday night at Lambeau Field.
There were some bright spots here and there during the lopsided loss, but for the most part, this was an ugly performance from an overall standpoint. And while plenty of players undoubtedly deserve to be called out for their lackluster efforts against Gang Green, linebacker Isaiah Simmons may merit the most criticism.
Already with his third team after the Arizona Cardinals made him the eighth overall pick in the 2020 draft, the Clemson alum, who spent the last two seasons mostly playing safety with the New York Giants, had a disastrous debut with the Packers, which is a bit surprising as he's looked fantastic in practice in the early weeks of training camp.
Isaiah Simmons faces an uphill battle to make Packers' 53-man roster
But actual game snaps obviously hit differently, and Simmons didn't look comfortable whatsoever in the 39 defensive plays in which he participated, earning a dreadful 29.4 overall PFF grade. Only undrafted rookie linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson recorded a worse mark on the defensive side of the football, ending his first professional game with a grade of 25.3 on 25 snaps.
Naturally, that's not what Matt LaFleur needs to see from Simmons, who many pundits thought could compete for a starting spot. But after Saturday's performance, one could easily argue that he'll have to fight just to make the 53-man roster.
While the 27-year-old logged four total tackles, he also missed a couple. And his performance in coverage was downright dreadful, as he allowed five receptions for 76 yards and a touchdown on six balls thrown in his direction, thus making his passer rating against number a perfect 158.3.
And let's certainly not forget that Simmons actually went viral after looking completely lost (and running into Keisean Nixon) on a short pass from Justin Fields to fullback Andrew Beck that had no business turning into a 24-yard gain.
One game certainly isn't going to get Simmons waived or anything like that, but given the Packers' overall strength at linebacker, he's certainly going to have to improve over the next few weeks.
Once Quay Walker is all the way back following ankle surgery—he's back at practice but simply didn't suit up against New York—he and Edgerrin Cooper will clearly be the every-down guys. Isaiah McDuffie seemingly holds the edge for the third spot at this point, with Simmons, Ty'Ron Hopper, and Kristian Welch fighting for backup roles.
Hopper looked solid on Saturday night, earning an 88.6 overall PFF grade, the second-highest defensive mark for Green Bay behind only edge-rusher Kingsley Enagbare (90.1). And Welch outplayed Simmons as well, earning a 63.2 grade on 30 defensive snaps. Welch is also a better player historically on special teams, which could give him an edge when push comes to shove on final cutdown day.
Again, Simmons still has time to solidify his spot on the roster. But nothing is guaranteed at this point, and he's going to need far better performances over the next two games.