Arizona Cardinals signed a massive undrafted free agent defensive talent that the rest of the NFL forgot to draft

Elijah Simmons, DL Tennessee

Elijah Simmons isn't the most dynamic pass rusher with the longest resume of every down dominance, but he does fit an extremely specific role at the NFL level. Simmons is a monstrous, 6'2", 340 pounds, and he plays with every bit of strength one might imagine comes with that kind of frame. If you need someone to fill space, and do it with force, Simmons is your guy.

While he never become a full-time player for the Tennessee Vols, his presence was felt any time he was in on a snap because he could take out two offensive linemen whenever he wanted to do so (as you can see in the post below). Simmons will seldom be the one getting all the glory for blowing up a play by himself, but offenses have to adjust their blocking when he's on the field.

That's the exact kind of player that the Arizona Cardinals need to add to their defensive depth. Yes, they just brought back Calais Campbell as a do-everything defensive end. Dalvin Tomlinson was a great defensive tackle addition in free agency. Walter Nolen should play a huge role at defensive tackle too as the team's new first round pick. However all those players have something in common: almost zero A-gap proficiency.

When the Cardinals need to "get big" and stuff the run they don't have many proven commodities on the team that can shift far inside and stop an offense in its tracks. In fact, out of the nearly 500 A-gap snaps from last season, over 450 of them are gone (Roy Lopez, Khyiris Tonga, and Naquan Jones are with new teams). Elijah Simmons should be able to earn a shot at real snaps if he can prove worthy enough to slide in as a run-stopper and pile-mover in pass rush in that interior defensive tackle role.

That kind of role isn't what fans often think of as being incredibly important, but it's exactly what sets the best defenses apart from being just one of the rest in certain short down and distance situations. Simmons' unreal 5% career missed tackle rate and his unmatched size on the Cardinals team could be exactly what Arizona needs this season (at least in limited snap action). Cardinals fans will want to keep an eye on Elijah Simmons all summer long because this former Tennessee Volunteer could be a surprise 53-man roster addition.

We'll be back with more Arizona Cardinals coverage here at A to Z Sports soon! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!

And if you want to see why Elijah Simmons is the perfect fit to plug the middle of the Arizona Cardinals defensive line just check out his Tennessee Vols highlights in the video below!