Isaiah Simmons' tantalizing athleticism provides Giants' ultimate wild card

If you like wild cards, you may love Isaiah Simmons.
Consider Simmons, the hybrid linebacker/safety the Giants acquired last week in a no-lose trade with the Cardinals, a chess piece.
Now think of Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale as Bobby Fischer, arguably the greatest chess player of all time.
This Simmons thing, of course, may not work, considering how underwhelming his three years with Arizona were commensurate with where he was picked in the 2020 draft — eighth overall.
But this, too, has potential to work quite well, considering the mad scientist Martindale is with his creative deployment of personnel in a defense he likes to term “positionless.’’
“Positionless’’ should perfectly suit Simmons, who never really settled into any particular spot with the Cardinals.
If it doesn’t work out, the Giants lose out on only the seventh-round pick they sent Arizona. It, too, doesn’t cost them much with Simmons, who is in the final year of his rookie contract and is not expensive.
There’s certainly the possibility that Simmons — who’s 6-foot-4, 238 pounds and was an absolute beast while playing at Clemson — ends up simply being an amazing athletic specimen who happens to be just OK at football.
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But there, too, is a possibility that the change of scenery and scheme can resurrect his career and turn him into a tantalizing weapon in Martindale’s defense — as a nightmare edge-rusher matchup against tight ends and running backs and someone capable to being a force on the back end of the defense.
Simmons’ Giants teammates are already clamoring over the possibilities the marriage of Simmons’ skills and Martindale’s scheme. And Simmons must be salivating at the possibilities — particularly after his chase and near sack of Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers last Saturday night such a short time after being acquired by the Giants.
“With Wink the mad scientist he is … mad scientists usually come up with great ideas no one else thinks of, so I’m excited to see how he’s utilized,’’ Giants cornerback Adoree’ Jackson told The Post after practice Thursday. “He has a special talent. I’m just excited to see what he does in this system for this team.’’
So is defensive tackle and team captain Dexter Lawrence. He and Simmons were college teammates at Clemson, so Lawrence had a first-hand look at the damage Simmons did to opposing offenses, recording 253 tackles, 10.5 sacks, four interceptions and five forced fumbles in 44 games.
“He’s a guy that has proven that he can do anything on the field — rush, cover, play man, play zone,’’ Lawrence told The Post. “He can rush the passer, be one-on-one with the tight ends or backs. He can do anything you ask him. And Wink has everybody doing everything — I even drop back.
“So, it’s a great fit for [Simmons’] build and athleticism. We just have to catch him up on the playbook and get him comfortable with the system.’’
Simmons comes to the Giants with a tag as a disappointment at Arizona, but that’s largely a label because of how high he was drafted. It’s not like he was an abject failure.
He played in 16 games his rookie year and had two sacks, an interception, a forced fumble and 54 tackles. In 2021, he played in 17 games and had 1.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, one interception and 105 tackles. Last season, he had a career-high four sacks, two forced fumbles and 99 tackles.
Modest numbers for the eighth pick in the draft, but still productive on some level.
“He has a clean slate here,’’ Lawrence said. “Whatever happened there … I feel like we won [the trade]. I was excited when we got him.’’
So, too, was linebacker Azeez Ojulari, who called Simmons “a freak athlete’’ and added, “He can do it all. I feel like Wink will put him in a great spot to maximize what he can do … and he can do a lot. I look forward to working with him and attacking with him.’’
Safety Xavier McKinney said having Simmons on defense “is going to be fun.’’
“With me and him and both of our skill sets, it’s going to free me up a lot playing with him,’’ McKinney said. “Wink’s going to put him in great spots, and it’s going to be fun to mix and match and see the different things he can do.’’
McKinney raved about Simmons’ physical attributes, calling out “his length and the fact that you can put him in the box, blitz him off the edge and you can play him deep in the field.’’
“When you have a ‘backer like that it’s always a good thing,’’ McKinney said. “That’s what excites me most.’’
There’s a lot to be excited about, because the acquisition was a no-lose proposition that has potential to turn into a true checkmate for the Giants.