"The goal is to play right away": Simmons brings versatility to Broncos' secondary

The Denver Broncos had the very last pick on Friday night and used to select safety Justin Simmons, formerly of Boston College University, 98^th overall.

“It was crazy. I was just about to get ready to go to bed. I was like, ‘My day is tomorrow. I’m just going to get ready for that,’” Simmons said Saturday morning in front of the Denver media. “The crazy thing is I didn’t know I was even on their watch list or even on their list because at the combine I sat down with a regional scout and it was an informal interview. It was real relaxed.”

Simmons, a four-year starter for the Eagles, played both safety and cornerback. He excelled at free safety, the slot the Broncos foresee him playing immediately in some packages.

“His natural position will be as a free safety but in this league it is all about matchups,” defensive backs coach Joe Woods said Saturday. “He gives us the versatility to move him around, other players around at the safety position to create matchups we want to create game to game.”

Simmons joins a supremely talent defensive backfield and remembers watching them play the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50 just a few months ago.

“Watching Carolina do what they did offensively was great, obviously it was really great,” he told. “Then watching the Denver Broncos come in and just completely dismantle that whole offensive momentum that they had going throughout the playoffs and into the Super Bowl, I was like, ‘Man I wish I could learn from those guys, pick up a few things from them and be able to play with those guys.”

Simmons will certainly have immediate opportunities to make his mark and get on the field when T.J. Ward goes down in the box as a nickel linebacker. With Omar Bolden and David Bruton Jr. departing and Brandian Ross joining Shiloh Keo on the Broncos roster, Simmons already appears to have a great chance of moving up the depth chart as a rookie.

“I think it is important to make sure you come in and kind of establish yourself and making sure you don’t take a back seat because I think you pushing yourself to push the starters will only make your program better,” explained the bright-eyed rookie-to-be. “The goal is to come in and try to play right away of course. Obviously I have my work cut out for me.”

Simmons also played cornerback for a time at Boston College and although he is not likely to play there, it did give him a needed perspective when he returned to safety his senior year. It also helped with his already impressive ball-hawking skills.

“My original position was safety at Boston College and then due to some injuries and absences from the team I was forced to play corner which was a huge blessing in disguise,” he said. “It not only helped me become a better football player but it helped me understand the game a little bit more than I thought I did at safety.”

He intercepted eight passes, had 22 passes defended and tallied 229 tackles in 50 games as an Eagle and understands he simply has to continue to get better, especially on such a talented roster.

“Just working on man coverage all in all,” Simmons said when asked about biggest area to improve. “I played a good bit of man at Boston College but obviously you can always get that much better at it and with that five-yard grace rule and learning how to be more fluid with my hips than using my hands, things like that.”

It seems Simmons is eager to join a talented roster but not resigned to a rookie backup role. He appears to have the skills to push some veteran safeties, albeit backups while also learning from some impressive starters in front of him. Although he did not foresee himself landing in Denver it appears that it is just where he belongs.

“For a young guy like me to come in, that is where I want to be after four, five, six years in the league. Those are the guys that I want to be and look up to. Coming in here, I’m making sure I work my absolute hardest to earn my spot on the team and earn my role and make sure I’m helping out the best I can.”