Earlier this week, the New York Jets signed defensive back Jaylin Simpson to their active roster. Today, we look at Simpson in detail.

The 24-year old Simpson is listed at 6'0" and 179 pounds and was a fifth round pick out of Auburn in April. He has yet to make his NFL debut, having spent the season so far on the Indianapolis Colts practice squad.

Background

Simpson was a quarterback in high school, but he also played defensive back and was rated as a four-star safety recruit.

He headed to Auburn in 2019, playing in four games in his first season and recording two tackles and a tackle for loss.

Ahead of the 2020 season, he won a competition to be the opening day starter at cornerback, but he was injured in the opener and missed the next few games. When he returned, he was in a reserve role for the rest of the season, recording 14 tackles and three pass breakups.

In 2021, Simpson's playing time increased again as he started five games. He had 27 tackles, three passes defensed and the first interception of his career.

2022 saw him start six games and rack up a career-high 37 tackles and five pass breakups. He also intercepted two passes. Towards the end of the year he saw some time at safety and officially converted to the safety position at the end of the year.

In his final season, Simpson started 11 games at safety and intercepted four passes as he was named as an All-SEC first-teamer and honorable mention All-American. He also registered 36 tackles, two tackles for loss, three pass breakups and a fumble recovery.

Simpson was invited to the NFL scouting combine and participated in the Senior Bowl before being selected by the Colts in the fifth round of the 2024 draft. They immediately converted him back to cornerback. However, he was released in final cuts and had been on their practice squad until this week.

Let's move onto some more in-depth analysis of what Simpson brings to the table, based on extensive research and film study.

Measurables/Athleticism

Simpson has good size and length, although he is undersized for the safety position, especially at the NFL level.

He put up some excellent numbers at the scouting combine with a 4.45 in the 40-yard dash, a 40-inch vertical leap and a 133-inch broad jump. He ran the agility drills at his pro day, but those numbers were below average for the cornerback position.

Usage

As a cornerback Simpson primarily played on the outside, but he has extensive experience of covering players in the slot from when he was playing safety.

Coverage skills

Simpson posted solid coverage numbers during his college career, as he allowed a completion percentage of just 52 percent when targeted. He gave up four touchdowns in 2021 but otherwise was beaten for just three other touchdowns in his college career.

He has the speed to stay with wide receivers on deep passes, having only given up one completion over 40 yards in his college career.

He moves quite well, with good balance, but he can be slow going in and out of his progressions sometimes.

His positioning and route recognition are solid and his experience at the safety position should serve him well in zone-heavy systems.

Ball skills

Simpson's playmaking developed well over the course of his college career, as he had just one interception in his first three seasons but then six in the last two.

His route recognition is solid, and he has the closing speed to jump a route and contest or pick off a pass.

He competes well for the ball at the catch-point, using his length well as he showcases good timing to bat the ball away and an ability to come up with the ball in a contested catch scenario.

He has also shown an ability to break up passes by hitting receivers coming across the middle.

Tackling

Simpson is a disciplined tackler whose efficiency in college was good because he didn't miss too many tackles. He displays good closing speed and hits hard.

He can be guilty of taking over-aggressive angles at times, but not usually when he's the last line of defense. He breaks down well in the open field and has good lane discipline.

He did not have any forced fumbles in his college career.

Run defense

Simpson made some contributions as a run stopper when he was at safety, but he would often get blocked out of a play and is probably too small to make an impact in that kind of role at the NFL level. However, this experience will benefit him when playing outside.

Here's a play where he reads the situation well to get around the blocker and then upends the running back near the line.

Physicality

Simpson has some nice hits on his highlight reel, and he will use his body to create leverage when covering receivers, but he struggles to get off blocks at times and can be driven back or dragged for extra yardage by ball carriers.

His on-field discipline was solid in college with just seven defensive penalties in his career. However, he had this holding penalty in preseason where he got his hands on his man but wasn't really able to slow him up and locate the ball. He then kept his hands on him for too long before losing him at the top of the route.

Blitzing

It was rare for Simpson to blitz at Auburn and he didn't have any sacks during his college career. Following the move to safety in 2023, he did it a little more often and did have a few pressures.

Special teams

Although Simpson replaced Irv Charles' spot on the roster, he hasn't shown much special teams production in the past to suggest that he's being brought in to take over Charles' special teams role.

He does have experience at the gunner position and has also rushed kicks, covered kickoffs and been a blocker on special teams. He doesn't have much in the way of production with just a couple of special teams tackles in college and one punt downed inside the five. He had this tackle in preseason though:

He was credited with one fair catch on the punt return unit and also had one muff when the ball hit him as he was playing the vice role.

Instincts/Intelligence

Simpson is versatile and has played several positions in the secondary, in addition to being a high school quarterback. This experience helps him make some good reads.

He can be over-aggressive at times, making him susceptible to misdirection and double moves. He was also involved in blown coverages at times.

Attitude

Simpson has shown a lot of determination to work his way up to a full-time role in a deep Auburn secondary, despite several setbacks, and ultimately get himself drafted.

He's apparently a player who is very cocky and confident, although sometimes he can take the trash talk a bit too far.

He is a good teammate who brings energy and leadership and demands focus and determination from his colleagues.

Injuries

Simpson played in all 25 games in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, having previously dealt with a series of injuries over the years. His only injury issue in those two years was a minor calf issue.

In high school, he had ankle surgery and fractured his wrist, then dealt with a turf toe injury. Having won the starting role in 2020, a hamstring injury caused him to miss the next few games and he didn't win back his job that year. He also missed three games with an ankle injury in 2021.

Scheme Fit

Simpson's ability to play both safety and cornerback means that he projects similarly to some recent Jets targets like Isaiah Oliver, Jarrick Bernard-Converse or Qwan'tez Stiggers. This suggests they see him as a good fit for their current scheme.

Of course, they may have a totally different system by next year, but the fact that he brings versatility will probably help him more than anyone who has limited flexibility that might no longer be ideally suited to how the Jets play following any change in scheme.

In order to really help his roster chances, Simpson probably needs to show he can produce on special teams. He hasn't done this much in the past, but he potentially has the skill set to be good at it.

Conclusions

Expectations won't be high for Simpson to make much of an impact over the next month, but he's likely someone the organization liked as a draft prospect, so they figured he was worth bringing in for a longer look given that he is available at a time when they have roster space available.

Whether he gets a chance to play in any of these last four games remains to be seen, but he will be on the 53-man roster for at least three weeks having been signed off the Colts' practice squad.

Adding one more young player with draftable pedigree and untapped potential to the mix next year and giving him a chance to compete seems like a reasonable enough move and Simpson has some ability that perhaps does make him a low cost option worth giving a shot to.