*****The Josh Simmons Thread*****

[Dante84]

More to come!

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— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) April 25, 2025

Several teams agree: Josh Simmons had best tape of any OT last year. And they aren't very concerned with recovery on the torn patella tendon. More of the concern is maturity/character. But he's going to the ideal, veteran-laden place.

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) April 25, 2025

the #chiefs get LT Josh Simmons out of Ohio State. If Simmons didn't suffer a torn patellar tendon he would have been the first tackle off the board. I had one team tell me he was the most athletic and talented tackle tape they watched. There are some maturity issues, but this…

— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) April 25, 2025

The #Chiefs have selected #OSU OT Josh Simmons at No. 32, a player recovering nicely from a torn patellar tendon. They are comfortable with his rehab and did endless homework on it. https://t.co/awdb0JhPed

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 25, 2025

The #Chiefs are selecting Ohio State LT Josh Simmons at No. 32 to close out Round 1.

A key addition to bolster the offensive line in front of Patrick Mahomes. pic.twitter.com/oBx2CjzmCe

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) April 25, 2025

[Easy 6]

Can't add anything new to whats already been said

But its my belief that this was a gamble that simply HAD to be taken

Didn't think they'd actually do it with Moore, Suamataia, and maybe even Humphries in the mix... but all of those guys come with their own risks, and when you're always shopping at the end of the first round, you HAVE to take another risk when you get the chance to add a potential 10 year starter at the second most important position

Now gimme an edge, rb, and dt in that order tonight

[New World Order]

The risk/reward ratio is too good to pass up

[-King-]

Originally Posted by Coochie liquor

This!! Let’s just for sake of the argument say Simmons never plays a snap as for us. But we hit on a 3rd round pick. It evens itself out, and that’s the best you should hope for in a draft where nothing is guaranteed.

Wut?

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Sassy Squatch

I don't really care how you behave. Just odd to me we have folks declaring this as a complete waste and Veach as a reerun before he even has a chance to suit up and try to play.

Not liking the pick is one thing. I don't, at all. Would've rather made the jump into the late 20s once Conerly slid that far if they'd decided on LT or bust.

But man, it sure seems like some of you have already decided his career is ****ed and aren't even willing to consider the alternative.

It's not me deciding it.

It's me looking at the historical data and going, "Oh, that sucks." And the deeper and harder you look, the more it sucks. And you start to see the most likely outcomes.

If you're laying odds on the likely outcome, it's a coin flip that he ever actually plays again after this injury.

The odds that he gets back to what he was are 1/5, and that's being generous.

I'll be nervous about it until we see a reason to stop being nervous about it. I will hope that reason materializes.

It would be super cool to have heard more about how they cleared him medically. Tests they did that convinced them full function would be regained. Anyone heard anything in that realm?

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by GordonGekko

I am going to go with 3x SB champ Veach's analysis and the team trainers/physicians, and Jason Dunn who played for the Chiefs personal experiences over sofa GM's on a messageboard

And most of the time he'll be right.

If he drinks antifreeze and says "Tasty" does that also mean it must be a good decision and you'll defend that as well? Or is it possible that the best of us do dumb shit sometimes?

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by GordonGekko

I am going to go with 3x SB champ Veach's analysis and the team trainers/physicians, and Jason Dunn who played for the Chiefs personal experiences over sofa GM's on a messageboard

I'd have just led off with that.

It makes a lot more sense than "Hey guys, what if he's Rodney Peete!?!?!"

I appreciate that you tried to provide some insight of your own. I'd also suggest you not do that anymore.

You tried. I'm proud of you.

[Sassy Squatch]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

It's not me deciding it.

It's me looking at the historical data and going, "Oh, that sucks." And the deeper and harder you look, the more it sucks. And you start to see the most likely outcomes.

If you're laying odds on the likely outcome, it's a coin flip that he ever actually plays again after this injury.

The odds that he gets back to what he was are 1/5, and that's being generous.

I'll be nervous about it until we see a reason to stop being nervous about it. I will hope that reason materializes.

It would be super cool to have heard more about how they cleared him medically. Tests they did that convinced them full function would be regained. Anyone heard anything in that realm?

Only thing I heard is Simmons say the Chiefs did the most work on him relative to the rest of the league. What that actually entailed and why they decided it meant his career isn't already effectively over I have no clue. Just hope they're right.

[-King-]

Originally Posted by GordonGekko

I am going to go with 3x SB champ Veach's analysis and the team trainers/physicians, and Jason Dunn who played for the Chiefs personal experiences over sofa GM's on a messageboard

But you're on a message board. Just give YOUR opinions. Who cares if they align with Veach or not? Who cares if you end up right or wrong?

I'll never understand the appeal to authority on sports boards. Mahomes is the best QB ever, when he makes a stupid play, you're allowed to call it out. Or Reid making a bad call. Why doesn't the same apply to Veach?

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by -King-

. Why doesn't the same apply to Veach?

We won’t know if it’s a bad Veach call for a few years. A high risk certainly. But every draft pick is a risk of some sort.

[SHOWTIME]

I love how CP'ers pretend to know more about the medical history of a player than the doctors themselves...

[SHOWTIME]

Originally Posted by Sassy Squatch

Only thing I heard is Simmons say the Chiefs did the most work on him relative to the rest of the league. What that actually entailed and why they decided it meant his career isn't already effectively over I have no clue. Just hope they're right.

Plus Andy says he'll be ready to start when the season begins...

[-King-]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

We won’t know if it’s a bad Veach call for a few years. A high risk certainly. But every draft pick is a risk of some sort.

100%. Which is why both sides can be valid. He can turn out to be great based on his potential before the injury. Or he could either never play again or be a very diminished version of himself. I don't know why people are mad about acknowledging the latter. Or be mad that people wanted someone who would contribute all 5 years of his 1st round rookie deal.

[-King-]

Originally Posted by SHOWTIME

I love how CP'ers pretend to know more about the medical history of a player than the doctors themselves...

Why do you ignore the doctors of the other teams though?

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by TRR

Can't say I'm in love with the pick, but with the way the board fell, I can't say I have too much of an argument against it. Sounds like the recovery is going well, seemed to be moving well at his Pro Day, and the Chiefs seem to be pretty comfortable with it. Ideally, Simmons would redshirt this year, work on getting fully healthy and adding more functional strength for 2026.

Simmons is an athletic freak for his size. Even if he's never back to 100% of what he was before the injury, it should be more than enough to be a successful LT at the NFL level.

Funny enough - and something nobody's even started to talk about much -- is something we did discuss in the draft forum.

His pass blocking reps are...fine. The 2023 tape is just a solid pass blocker.

Then in 2024 a lot of what we saw from him was run blocking against pretty lousy opposition. You saw the athleticism in those reps when he was out in space blocking in the run game. I think that's where a ton of people are getting the raves about his athleticism; in open space he's really good.

But that doesn't really answer where he got to as compared to his 2023 tape as a pass blocker against advanced pass rushers. And every player he'll face in the NFL is going to be 'advanced' on a college scale.

And before you blow past that, Evan Neal is a guy I think of here. Evan Neal was a crazy good athlete, especially for his size. And a lot of that WAS projection -- how does that dancing bear stuff he did while abusing outmatched dudes at Alabama translate?

Well the answer has been....it hasn't. At all.

Now over time we've seen him develop to the point that he actually uses all that athleticism and power in the same way he used it at Alabama -- to dominate in the run game. But he's never advanced a lick as a pass blocker.

That remains a completely open question with Simmons. Because we just never saw it in 2024 against advanced rushers. That's yet another issue created by the injury -- the unknown it creates isn't just in his rehab. It makes it really difficult to establish even a baseline for how he's advanced from 2023 into 2024 as a pass blocker.

The 2023 version wasn't a 1st round pick, especially not for a pass-first team. And the 2024 version is just so reliant on projection because we never saw him go against high quality college rushers.

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by -King-

I'll never understand the appeal to authority on sports boards. Mahomes is the best QB ever, when he makes a stupid play, you're allowed to call it out. Or Reid making a bad call. Why doesn't the same apply to Veach?

They want to believe it's true - they don't actually believe it's true.