Trenton Simpson, LB Clemson: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Simpson was a five-star recruit from Mallard Creek High School in Charlotte, N.C. in the class of 2020

Clemson linebacker Trenton Simpson excels in coverage and has an excellent athletic profile. However, he struggles in situations that require him to stack and shed blocks. He could fall to the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

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Trenton Simpson, LB Clemson: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Junior linebacker from Charlotte, N.C.

Background: Simpson was a five-star recruit from Mallard Creek High School in Charlotte, N.C. in the class of 2020. He was the No. 26 recruit according to 247Sports, No. 11 for Rivals, and No. 22 for On3.com. ESPN ranked him 92nd (four-star) in the nation with an 84 grade out of 100. Simpson began his high school career as a running back and played running back and linebacker in 2019. As a high school senior, Simpson amassed 20 sacks and 44 carries for 371 yards and six touchdowns. He recorded 97 carries for 799 yards (8.2 yards per carry) and seven touchdowns in his career. Simpson was selected for the Under Armour All-America Game. He won the Arnold R. Solomon Award as the North Carolina High School Football Player of the Year in 2019 as awarded by NCPreps.com. Simpson originally committed to Auburn before switching to Clemson. The North Carolina native also played basketball in high school. Simpson is the son of Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy D. Simpson, who served 17 tours overseas from 1994-21 with the U.S. Army Rangers. He was born on June 14, 2001.

Injuries & Off-Field: N/A

Awards: 2020 ACC Honor Roll, 2021 ACC Honor Roll, 2021 All-ACC Academic Team, 2022 Third-Team All-ACC

Pros: Special teams experience on the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, and field goal block units, gained experience in the slot in 2021, excellent acceleration and closing burst, decent play strength for his size, high motor, sideline-to-sideline range, range in pursuit, keeps feet active throughout play, light feet, easy mover, ideal QB spy, speed to make plays as a backside run defender, range and lateral agility to force outside runs back inside, agility and fluidity to slip some blocks, surprising pop on his hands when he lands the first blow, challenges and sheds WR blocks, some ability to thump and manipulate the tackle when he gets into his pads as a rusher, potential for exotic blitzes, quick to trigger on screens, gets his arms up to disrupt passing lanes, reads the quarterback’s eyes, gains good depth in zone drops, agility and speed to carry tight ends up the seam, will cover running backs with little difficulty, plays the pass catcher’s hands, bumps tight ends off their routes

Cons: Undersized, narrow and lean lower body, not twitchy, change of direction skills could be better at his size, struggles to play to the strength of climbing linemen, doesn’t stack and shed blocks from linemen and tight ends consistently, displaced by climbing linemen, struggles to play through congested areas, might be too undersized for goal line plays, doesn’t disengage from blocks soon enough, hands need to be more purposeful and refined, patient to a fault, improper diagnosis and run fits, inconsistent angles coming downhill, limited reps in man coverage, won’t cover slot receivers in man, needs to trust his instincts in zone more often, lots of diving tackle attempts that come up short, doesn’t drive through tackles, lacks a developed pass rush arsenal, role in the NFL remains in question

Overview: Simpson took official measurements at the NFL Combine. He’s 6021 and weighs 235 lbs. He has 10 2/8-inch hands, 32 3/8-inch arms, and a 77 4/8-inch wingspan. Simpson has special teams experience on the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, and field goal block units. He gained experience playing in the slot in 2021. Simpson’s acceleration and closing burst jump off the tape. His play strength isn’t at the level usually requested of a linebacker, but it’s decent considering his undersized frame and lean and narrow lower body. The junior plays with a high motor. He has sideline-to-sideline range and is excellent in pursuit. Simpson’s light and active feet make him an easy mover. He’s an ideal quarterback spy. Simpson has the speed to make plays as a backside run defender and the range and lateral agility to force outside runs back inside. He slips some blocks with his agility and fluidity. There’s surprising pop in Simpson’s hands. He can even temporarily stun tackles when he lands the first blow. Simpson is a versatile weapon who should be used in exotic blitzes. He is quick to trigger downhill on screens and competes to shed wide receiver blocks. Simpson gets his arms up to disrupt passing lanes when blitzing or dropping in coverage. He has the agility and speed to carry tight ends up the seam and covers running backs with little difficulty. The All-ACC selection plays the pass catcher’s hands to force incompletions and bumps tight ends off their routes. He reads the quarterback’s eyes to get an early jump on plays. Despite having the build of a large safety, Simpson isn’t twitchy, and his change of direction skills fall well short of elite. He struggles to play to the strength of climbing linemen and doesn’t stack and shed blocks consistently. The North Carolina native is frequently displaced by climbing linemen. He struggles to play through congested areas and might be too undersized for goal line plays. His hands need to be more purposeful and refined to get off blocks sooner. Simpson suffers from the occasional bad run fit and takes inconsistent angles coming downhill. Despite his athletic upside, he doesn’t have much experience in man coverage. He shouldn’t be tasked with man coverage on slot receivers. Simpson needs to trust his instincts in zone more often. He misses a lot of diving tackle attempts and doesn’t drive through the ball carrier. Simpson lacks a developed pass rush arsenal. He might only fill a niche role at the NFL level.

Overall, Simpson is an athletic project with the movement skills, speed, and coverage upside to warrant a top-80 selection. He needs to speed up his processing and improve his ability to stack and deconstruct blocks at the second level. Simpson might level out as a niche defender or rotational piece because of his struggles at stack backer, but the athletic upside and motor are there for a quality defensive coach to mold.

Role & Scheme Fit: Weakside linebacker in a 4-3 scheme or overhang defender

Round Projection: Late Second to Mid Third

Player Comparison: N/A

Submitted: 04-15-23