Trenton Simpson

Pos: LB

School: Clemson

Ht. 6’2″ 

Wt. 235

Games Watched: Boston College, Florida State, Notre Dame

One Liner: Fluid linebacker who wins with athleticism, man coverage ability, and as a read and react defender.

Strengths: 

  • Elite athleticism. Simpson is a great athlete and that is his main selling point as teams evaluate his game. He is able to move around with little to no stiffness and can plant and go, change direction, burst and break on to ball carriers with ease. His athleticism immediately creates a high ceiling for Simpson and allows him to be a versatile piece on that Clemson defense. 
  • Very good man coverage linebacker. Because of Simpson’s fluidity and athletic ability, he finds no trouble playing man coverage against some of the bigger, stiffer tight ends. He can stick with running backs in the short passing game, but it would be malpractice to rely on Simpson to be a deep man coverage linebacker against speedy wide receivers, although his technique and speed in man makes him a viable threat on shorter levels. 
  • Very good fluidity. Simpson has fluid hips and change of direction speed. He doesn’t show much stiffness and doesn’t have to take extra steps to change his footing and direction. This helps him out quite a bit as a man defender and allows him to consistently attack running lanes as a WILL LB at Clemson.
  • Very good versatility. Simpson played all over Clemson’s defense, and has the chops to be a viable EDGE rusher considering his fluidity and flattening ability. He has a chiseled upper body frame which allows him to absorb some contact and still remain in the play. His fluidity and athleticism allows him to be a good coverage player in some box safety looks. 
  • Good read and react defender/processing speed. Simpson is able to process what he sees in front of him and combines this with great reactionary athleticism. He is a good read and react defender and trusts his eyes and understanding of fakes and blocking schemes in order to attack upfield. 

Weaknesses:

  • Marginal instincts. While he is a good read and react defender as well as a stable processor, Simpson is not an instinctual linebacker. He really reacts well to what he sees, but doesn’t display the ability to jump the gun early with good instincts, and when he does, he ends up attacking the wrong hole as a run defender or losing depth and a feel for his zone. Simpson can improve this over time but it will prevent him from being timely on the ball and could result in errant mistakes. 
  • Adequate zone coverage defender. Simpson lacks refined technique as a zone defender. He has disciplined eyes but he loses feel for his zones easily and is not the best at keying his zone reads in order to break on intermediate and short routes. 
  • Adequate strength. Simpson has a chiseled, well built frame but he lacks the bulk to be a true stack and shed blocker as of right now. He can get engulfed by blockers with strong punches, and doens’t have the ability to shed outside of taking advantage of angle blocks. 

Overall Assessment: Trenton Simpson is a high upside athlete who has an incredibly high ceiling due to fluid movements and ability to work in space. He is going to be a reliable man coverage defender at the next level and has good reactionary movements and burst to be an upfield attacking WILL linebacker. Simpson doesn’t play ahead of the game right now, and will need to improve his instincts to be a true run stopping threat, but he has tools to be a versatile chess piece for any defense he plays for.

Scheme Fit: WILL linebacker who can rush the passer and can flex out to SAM in coverage situations. Could find a role as a MIKE after developing some more bulk and instincts.

Pick Projection: Top 45

Grade: 6.37