Player: Trenton Simpson

School: Clemson

Measurables:

• Height: 6’2”(NFL Combine)
• Weight: 235(NFL Combine)
• 40: 4.43(NFL Combine)
• 10 Yard Split: 1.55(NFL Combine)
• Bench: DNP
• Vertical Jump: DNP
• Broad Jump: DNP
• 3 Cone: DNP
• 20 Yard Shuttle: DNP
• Other Notes: When I was watching Simpson run the 40, I was hoping for 4.4 flat, but the more time I’ve had to think about it I’m actually really happy with the time. Simpson also looked super fluid in his positional drills. 

Graded Position Specific Traits:

• Run Support: 6.5/10
• Tackling- 4.5/10
• Field Vision: 6.75/10
• Man Coverage: 6/10
• Zone Coverage: 6/10
• Blitzing: 5.5/10
• Block Shedding: 4.25/10
• Range: 6.25/10

Prospect Grade: 45.75/80; 57.2%- Top tier role player with starter potential

Projected Draft Day: Mid-Late Round 1

Player Comparison: Jamie Collins

Player Summary:

Simpson’s grade is a reflection of what I saw while watching his tape. His grade is not a reflection of what I think he can become. I believe that Simpson is an extremely raw player with a ton of upside for whoever drafts him. I don’t think that Simpson will be a “system player”; however I do think that the right system will take him from a starter to a pro bowl caliber player.

It’s really difficult to “tag” Simpson’s position because with Clemson’s hybrid defensive front, they played Simpson pretty much everywhere. He played 3-4 inside, 3-4 outside, 4-3 middle, 4-3 outside, and he lined up in the slot. When I watched his tape I was consistently pausing to try to find out where he was on any given play. I would love to see Simpson end up in a place that plays multiple fronts similar to Clemson, but more importantly I want to see him go somewhere the coaches are able to clean up Simpson’s game and unlock his full potential.

The first thing I notice about Simpson is that the tape pops when he gets downhill. His tape is good, but you really begin to notice Simpson pop when he’s going downhill. Clemson liked to blitz him a lot in the tackle box and off the edge. He doesn’t always get home, but he can be very disruptive. Clemson also used Simpson as a spy at times, which I think is fine depending on who the QB is. One of the things about Simpson’s tape that raised question marks in my mind is what’s his speed? It kind of looks like he has longer speed in general, but he looks slow at times and fast at others, it’s pretty inconsistent. I can’t wait to watch his 40 so I can finally get an idea of what his speed is. 

There’s one part of Simpson’s game that’s a complete enigma to me though, and that’s his use of hands. He does an incredibly good job with getting his hands up when the ball comes out of the QBs hand if he’s in the throwing lane. In coverage, he loves to get physical, put hands on, and press in coverage when he can. Although this can get him in trouble at times. He does such a good job with his use of hands until he’s engaged with a blocker. It’s not even like I’m just watching him unable to shed blocks against lineman, he does the same thing against TEs and WRs. Sometimes it looks like he’s late to engage, sometimes it looks like he’s just trying to throw his blocker, but either way I don’t see him hand fighting enough to get off his blocks. For a player who uses his hands so well in every other aspect, I would love to see him start to fight harder off blocks, I think that alone probably brings his game up to a new level. I will say he does flash the ability to be aggressive and fight off blocks, but he needs to be more consistent.

The last point I will make about Simpson is that his tackling mechanics need to be cleaned up. There’s so many times he’s in a great position to make a tackle and he’ll either get juked or he’ll slip off the tackle. Luckily tackling mechanics are one of the easier things to clean up and I expect whichever team that drafts him to have that cleaned up by summer’s ends.

UPDATE 3/11:

Simpson, despite not doing all the athletic testing, was a winner of the combine. He answered my question about what his speed was and looked extremely fluid in his movements during positional drills. He may have solidified himself as a first rounder.