Notes: Should the Lions select Isaiah Simmons with the third overall pick?

Our staff noticed that everybody is crazy about Clemson swiss army knife on defense Isaiah Simmons right now. This is interesting because at least at the time of this writing, he has not even declared for the draft yet:

Nevertheless, the hype train has left the station. Ben Solak at The Draft Network had a solid article on Simmons’ versatility complete with film clips, emphasizing how he was played all over the field by the Tigers in different alignments. The ridiculous athleticism and puzzlement over what position he best maps to in the NFL is reminiscent of the old Jabrill Peppers “position in the pros” speculation prior to his being drafted out of Michigan.

More to the point for Lions fans, Erik Schlitt at Lions Wire wrote up an analysis of where this team would use Isaiah Simmons on their defense if he were selected third overall. The solution, for Schlitt, is for the Lions to use more three safety looks like the Patriots did when they were loaded on safety talent. Lots of really interesting stuff there that is definitely worth the full read, so head on over and check it out. It sounds like his managing editor at Lions Wire Jeff Risdon would prefer to solve the linebacker coverage problems though, if the team selected the Clemson standout.

Regardless of where a team plays him, Simmons is a great football player that Jordan Reid from The Draft Network loves, and Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller agrees:

And now, on to the rest of today’s Notes:

• This is kind of funky. Updates as events warrant:

• Head coach Matt Patricia is a finalist for the USAA Salute to Service award for “exceptional efforts by members of the NFL community to honor and support U.S. service members, veterans and their families.” Patricia was picked from among 32 nominees (one from each team) which included Golden Tate of the Giants:

• From Cincy Jungle, we were alerted to the fact that for some reason the Cincinnati Bengals have hired former Detroit Lions linebackers assistant coach Al Golden to coach their linebackers:

• Some NFC North news via Windy City Gridiron on a competitor that also did not make the playoffs: the Chicago Bears hired John DeFilippo as their new quarterbacks coach yesterday. It is not clear how much this will help Mitchell Trubisky’s development, but it seems like Monday’s hire Bill Lazor is probably the right fit for them as offensive coordinator.

• T.J. Lang is great fun. I miss having him on the field, too:

• Oh, and one last draft hype PSA for today: