Buffalo Bills Draft: 3 linebackers the Bills could target

Trenton Simpson is another speedy linebacker, recording a 40 time of 4.43 at the NFL Combine.  Like Nolan Smith, he is 6’2″, and weighing in at 235 pounds.  The two players are mirror images of each other from a physical standpoint.  Overall, Simpson had an impressive combine performance as well and NFLDraftBuzz.com has him projected in the late first round.

The middle linebacker in the Bills’ scheme is largely a coverage backer, where the aforementioned Nolan Smith did quite well; however, Simpson throughout his collegiate career struggled in this area.  In three seasons at Clemson, the lowest quarterback rating he allowed to opposing passers was 82.2, not very good.  Even worse was last season, allowing a rating of 96.5.

During his sophomore season, he totaled 31 pressures, with seven sacks but only 16 pressures and two sacks last season.  I think Simpson could have benefited from another season at Clemson by returning for his senior season but still, the physical gifts are there and perhaps the Bills could develop him and his coverage skills.  It would be hard to pass up a linebacker running at 4.43 but I have my concerns otherwise with his readiness at the NFL level.