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PlayerCody Simon · LB, Arizona Cardinals, Model Score 73.3Be the Cardinals GM

Cody Simon

Arizona Cardinals
Pos LB
Updated October 8, 2026
Compare Cody Simon LB rankings →

Model Score

73.3 MODEL
Resting on limited playing time

How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →

STM Take

Rookie tier 8 (#71) for a 115th overall 4th-round pick is on the year-one band for Day 3 LB prospects. The Ohio State 2024 CFP National Championship pedigree plus the structural Cardinals linebacker reps give him basic college foundation. The 2026 question is whether Simon crosses into tier 6-7 territory in his year-two jump or whether the role compresses to swing depth.

Simon came out of Ohio State as the Arizona Cardinals' 4th-round pick (115th overall) in 2025 after starting for the Buckeyes' 2024 CFP National Championship roster. The Cardinals used him in the linebacker rotation as a rookie. His first STTM appearance comes in 2025 at tier 8 (#71), the year-one band for 4th-round LB prospects.

Strengths

  • Ohio State 2024 CFP National Championship pedigree plus the 115th overall draft slot gives him real championship-pedigree college foundation.
  • Year-one rotational reps for the Cardinals at age 22 plus the structural anchor reps gives him the developmental runway.

Concerns

  • Single tier 8 finish without prior STTM history caps the long-term projection certainty.
  • Arizona's broader defensive identity around the multi-year rebuild compresses the structural support around Simon.

What to watch: Whether Simon crosses into tier 7 (top 55) in 2026, the standard year-two threshold for 4th-round LB picks on stable-starter trajectories.

Comps

Coming out
pros whose college production, size and testing looked like his
Cody Barton79%Drue Tranquill71%Germaine Pratt68%

Cody Simon Injury StatusNot listed

Cody Simon is not on the injury report as of Oct 7. Source: the official NFL injury report, refreshed daily.

Draft & College

Round 4, pick 115 · Arizona Cardinals · 2025
Ohio State (Big Ten)
Taken
#115
where he actually went
Consensus board
168th
average of the public big boards that spring
Our college model
#109
among LB in our college data

He went earlier than consensus.

In college · 2021-2024 · 48 games
255 tackles, 22 TFL, 10.0 sacks, 1 INT

Covers the college seasons in our data, which does not always reach back to a player's first year.

Coming out
8.35
RAS
4.5s
40 yd
What this pick usually becomes

Of the 450 players taken as a fourth-rounder between 2012 and 2021, 38% earned a second contract and 26% became starters. The median one started 11 career games.

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