Ravens Select LB Trenton Simpson in Third Round

Simpson racked up 187 tackles, 22.5 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks in his three seasons at Clemson. He was the No. 1 outside linebacker in the 2020 recruiting class coming out of high school in North Carolina.

Simpson joins Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen, who were one of the best inside linebacker duos in the NFL last year. A military kid, Simpson was raised primarily in Georgia and he always looked up to Smith, a star at the University of Georgia. Simpson said he’s excited to learn from the All-Pro in the NFL.

“I love the way they play. They play like me,” Simpson said of Smith and Queen. “They play fast, physical football and they’re hitting anything that’s moving. That’s my mindset. I’m excited to come into the linebacker room and bring my talents and come in there willing to learn from the vets.”

The selection of Simpson opened up more questions about the status of Queen, however. The Ravens have not yet picked up Queen’s fifth-year option andDeCosta indicated that he won’t make an announcement on that before the May 1 deadline.

“We love Patrick. I love Patrick,” DeCosta said. “Patrick is, in my mind, one of the better WILL linebackers in the league. He’s smart. He works his butt off. I think he’s a Pro Bowl linebacker in the making. In Trenton, we get a guy that was, honestly, the very best player available at the time. That’s our philosophy. That’s how we build our team.”

The Ravens passed on taking a cornerback to grab Simpson. DeCosta and Director of Player Personnel Joe Hortiz said there are still good options in the fourth and following rounds to pick one up with one of the team’s remaining three picks, and DeCosta noted that they could also address the need in other ways.