Trenton Simpson stood behind Podium 3 inside the Indiana Convention Center, and flashed a big, bright smile.
The 21-year-old linebacker basked in a moment he had spent the past 15 years working for. With media from all over the country standing in front of him, Simpson — a Clemson Tigers standout — answered questions on topics that ranged from his positional preference to his father’s lofty military accomplishments.
Throughout the press conference, Simpson’s smile never eroded. The Charlotte native beamed with excitement from start to finish as he explained what that moment at the NFL Scouting Combine meant to him.
“This is a dream come true,” Simpson said. “I worked my whole life for this — since I was six years old. This is truly a blessing. I’ve worked so hard, so hard — put in so many countless hours — so going out here, I know I’m going to take care of everything and handle everything that comes my way, for sure.”
Simpson — who starred at football powerhouse Mallard Creek High in Charlotte — is considered one of the top linebacker prospects in this year’s draft class. At 6-foot-2 and 235 pounds, Simpson’s athleticism and versatility have been his calling cards.
This past Thursday in Indianapolis, Simpson showed off his speed with an impressive 40-yard dash time of 4.43 seconds. Simpson’s time ranked second among linebackers, bested only by Auburn’s Owen Pappoe, who clocked a blistering 4.39-second 40-yard dash at 6-foot and 225 pounds.
“He looked exceptional,” said one NFC scout, who was granted anonymity for competitive reasons. “Big, fast athletic guy who lines up in multiple spots.”
Simpson’s versatility is something he takes a lot of pride in. During interviews with NFL teams, Simpson said he wanted to stress the importance of his positional fluidity and his ability to be a great teammate.
“I feel like every team likes that I’m very versatile because it brings more value,” Simpson said. “I can play at all three levels of the ball — defensive end, all three linebackers, and some at safety and free safety — so I feel like every team likes that. That versatility brings value to me..”
Simpson’s father, Command Sgt. Major Timothy D. Simpson, spent more than two decades in the U.S. Army Rangers and was deployed overseas for 17 tours.
Trenton got an up-close look at the way a military man carries himself, day in and day out. That immediate example in the household prepared Trenton to be a competitor, a teammate and a leader.
“I take pride in that my dad fights for this country,” Trenton said. “He’s a great man, a great leader. He served for 26 years, 17 deployments. Being able to have my dad as somebody to look at as motivation is truly a blessing, because I can ask him about adversity and how to respond to things like that. He’s just a great father for me and a great role model.”
Trenton learned a lot from his role-model father. Timothy instilled discipline into his son at an early age, and the younger Simpson carried that over into his football career.
“In the military, you’ve got to be your brother’s keeper, and that’s what I pride myself on,” Trenton said.
Growing up in a military family, Trenton gained a workmanlike mentality, which should serve him well as he prepares to enter the NFL.
“I feel like I’m a great leader in the locker room — I’m one of those guys you can depend on,” Simpson said. “I’m very disciplined and (I’m) about my business. I’ll give it all I got, and I’m a team player, for sure.”
Simpson has a broad draft projection, according to a pair of NFC scouts polled by The Observer this week.
One of the evaluators had Simpson’s range being between the second and fourth rounds. The second scout said he expected Simpson to be selected in the second round, but he also noted that he wouldn’t be surprised to see the Clemson star get taken as early as the first round.
A third NFC scout believes Simpson impressed teams during his time in Indianapolis, as he has shown off his football IQ in meetings.
“He has done a great job in most meetings that he’s had with coaches and knows his stuff like the back of his hand,” the scout said. “It’ll be more (about) adjusting to new stuff.”
Simpson — who studies film of Dallas Cowboys pass rusher Micah Parsons and Arizona Cardinals linebacker Isaiah Simmons — enjoys switching up his roles on defense. However, his preferred spot is at weakside linebacker, a position that allows him to flow freely to the ball.
The Clemson linebacker produced 72 tackles (4 for loss), 2.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles during his junior season. While he’s getting some notable hype for his athleticism, some analysts are concerned about his ability to play in traffic.
“Sometimes if you get clear sight lines, he can see it, he can go, you will see that burst,” said Daniel Jeremiah, the NFL Network’s lead draft analyst. “He is off the edge. You’ll see him blitz. You will see him chase plays laterally. He has tremendous, tremendous juice. It’s just sometimes in the trash there you kind of get lost a little bit amidst all those bodies. That’s the only knock on him. That’s the only concern.”
While Simpson has championed his versatility, some analysts have given him the dreaded “tweener” label, which implies he’s an athlete without a natural position. NFL.com draft analyst Eric Edholm doesn’t think the label is necessarily a bad thing for Simpson.
“I don’t think the tweener element is going to hurt him badly,” Edholm told The Observer last week. “In the right scheme, behind the right defensive front, he should be fairly well covered up and more free to make plays. His athleticism is his superpower, and the NFL Combine will give him a boost after what was a so-so season on tape. His size seems fine to me for certain schemes, given how fast he’s going to run and how high and far he’ll jump and so on.”
Simpson will get another opportunity to impress scouts at Clemson’s pro day on March 14. After producing 163 tackles (23 for loss), 13 sacks and 3 forced fumbles over the past three seasons, Simpson will get to put an exclamation point on his college career with an impressive showing in drills.
Jeremiah, a former scout for the Baltimore Ravens and Philadelphia Eagles, has studied Simpson and believes his game fits the modern-day NFL. With mobile quarterbacks dominating defenses with their arms and legs, a spy linebacker is necessary to mitigate the damage.
Simpson told reporters in Indianapolis that spying the quarterback is his strength.
“I would not be shocked at all if he went in the first round,” Jeremiah said in February. “If you are in a division with an athletic quarterback, like if you were in the — if you were in the NFC East with Jalen Hurts and you want to have somebody that can play that role and be a spy and be able to mirror and just close those alleys, this dude is unbelievable when he spies the quarterback. So, you know, that’s going to be interesting to see with him what happens, but I would not be shocked if he goes in the first round at all.”
Edholm is also intrigued by Simpson’s athleticism and upside, even if the analyst believes it’ll take time for the Charlotte native to find his long-term role in the NFL.
“I like his potential to get better given that rare, natural ability,” Edholm said. “It might take some time. I was surprised he didn’t do more last season, but it’s nothing to kill him over. He can run and chase, and his coverage skills should improve with more consistent technique and recognition. I don’t know if I love him in a highly complex system where he lines up in multiple spots right away. But he plays with a little juice, especially when he’s moving forward toward the ball.”
In Indianapolis, Simpson met with the Miami Dolphins, New York Giants and Carolina Panthers for formal interviews at the combine. Simpson would likely play inside linebacker for the Panthers if he got drafted by his hometown team.
“We’ve seen him on tape, so we know what he can do,” Panthers GM Scott Fitterer said last week before the interview with Simpson. “We know he’s a talented guy, athletic — all these things — now, it’s about what drives him. Who is this person that we are bringing in? Is he a fit for what we want from a competitive standpoint, an intelligent standpoint and everything moving forward?”
Simpson is set to join a long line of Mallard Creek alums in the NFL.
Just last year, Simpson’s former teammate, defensive tackle Jordan Davis, was selected by the Eagles in the first round. Offensive tackle D.J. Humphries was selected by the Cardinals in the first round of the 2015 draft, while running back Jaylen Samuels was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fifth round in 2018.
“That competition level and the coaches we have (were) truly amazing,” Simpson said, “and they’ve had us prepared to go off to college and this (opportunity) also.”
As Simpson prepares to join the long lists of NFL players who have come from his high school and his college — both located in the Carolinas — the young prospect is just hoping to make the most of his draft journey on the way to the league.
“It means a lot,” Simpson said. “I think about the first time getting on the field at six years old, and how just every day came to be. … I’m going to take advantage of every opportunity and have a great time and enjoy the moment.”
It’s the deadest, least interesting part of the NFL offseason, which makes it the perfect time to do stuff like a game-by-game prediction of the entire reg
The NFL could have a tough time finding a team for "Hard Knocks" this year, and that's
We are in the slowest part of the NFL offseason. So why not throw around some absolutely crazy ideas that will never happen. Re-align the league College foo
/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/BCP3LGECNZKDLJMOKT5TBG4VMM.jpg)
