Clemson Football: John Simpson will be a mid-round gem

Though the Clemson football offensive lineman won’t be drafted highly, John Simpson is going to be an absolute diamond in the mid-rounds.

The Clemson football program is no stranger to seeing players hear their names called during the NFL Draft, but it has been quite a while since we’ve seen a Tiger offensive lineman taken in the draft.

For those wondering, the last Clemson football offensive lineman taken in the NFL Draft was Brandon Thomas in 2014. He was taken in the third-round by the San Francisco 49ers.

Though it’s been some time, it does seem that the Tigers are finally ready to see that streak come to an end because of John Simpson.

Simpson is projected to go in the mid-rounds (Round 3-5) of the 2020 NFL Draft and the truth is this: He’s going to be an absolute steal for whatever franchise ends up selecting him.

Simpson certainly has some question marks. One of the biggest reasons why he isn’t going higher in the draft is because he has been slow out of his stance at times. That slow footwork is something that makes NFL scouts concerned to a point, but there are far too many pluses for him to fall.

Simpson is big and shows an elite amount of strength. He did 34 reps at the NFL Combine and proved that he has the ability to match-up along the interior of the offensive line with anyone in the league.

Though we won’t hear Simpson’s name called in the second-round of the NFL Draft, what we do know for sure is that he’s going to be an absolute steal for whatever franchise chooses to select him.

It is my belief that we will see Simpson earn a starting position at an offensive guard spot before the end of his rookie season and he’s going to be a mainstay along the interior offensive line at some lucky NFL organization for many years to come.