NFL Draft prospect profile: Trenton Simpson

College Career

Junior linebacker Trenton Simpson played his college football at Clemson for the Tigers. Simpson played 12 games his junior season and racked up 41 solo tackles along with 72 total tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 3 passes defended and 2 forced fumbles. 

Simpson was a very versatile player in college, playing at both inside and outside linebacker. He controls his body well and reads and reacts to offenses great. He’s also speedy for a linebacker, as he ran a 4.43 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine.

Simpson finished his college career with 165 total tackles, 23 tackles for loss, 13 sacks, 5 passes defended and 3 forced fumbles over three seasons.

What Trenton Simpson could bring to Buffalo

The Buffalo Bills have just recently lost starting middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds to free agency and are now searching for a new linebacker to start alongside Matt Milano. The Bills haven’t made any moves to get a starting caliber linebacker as of yet. A lot of the draft talk for the Bills has revolved around the linebacker position, most notably Jack Campbell out of Iowa and Drew Sanders out of Arkansas, but Simpson could bring a versatile mindset and help the defense in a variety of ways. It all depends on what coach Sean McDermott is looking for specifically to fill in that hole on his defense now with DC Leslie Frazier stepping away. Simpson plays very explosively and has great range in coverage which can help the Bills pass defense, especially in zone. 

Strengths

• Great versatility. 
• Able to play inside and outside linebacker.
• Good tackler who attacks and gets low to get through the line. 
• Good awareness. 

Weaknesses 

• Tends to be overly aggressive. 
• Lacks in man to man coverage. 
• Below average strength and size.

Draft Projection 

Trenton Simpson is projected to be a first to second round draft pick. He is probably not going to be taken in the first round by Buffalo but they could consider trading up in the second to take him.