The smoke surrounding a possible union between the Atlanta Falcons and former Auburn safety [autotag]Jaylin Simpson[/autotag] has gotten thicker over the last week.
According to a report by Daniel Flick of Sports Illustrated, Simpson revealed during the NFL scouting combine that he met with the Falcons twice during Senior Bowl week. The meetings were “wonderful” according to Simpson.
“Usually, (when) you meet with a team, you meet with them once, maybe you get two or three. But I got to meet with them twice back-to-back. It was 20 long minutes. Just straight talking to get to know me. I think we had a great interview.”
Simpson, a native of Brunswick, Georgia, tells Flick that he did not particularly grow up a Falcons fan, but enjoyed watching former Falcons running back Michael Turner play. So much so, that he wanted to wear No. 33 on the football field just like Turner.
“I used to like Michael Turner when I was little,” Simpson said. “When I played little league, I played a little bit of every position at the time. I was a running back, so I used to like Michael Turner and I was No. 3. He actually made me want to switch my number. Because he was 33, I wanted to be No. 33.”
The link between Auburn and Simpson began to surface last week when Josh Kendall of The Athletic included Simpson on his Falcons big board. Matt Urben of Falcons Wire also named Simpson as a “target to watch” ahead of the NFL draft.
Simpson performed well at the NFL combine last week. He earned an athleticism score of 87, ran the 40-yard dash in 4.47, and recorded a 39.5″ on the broad jump.
Jaylin Simpson showed out at the Combine🦅@AuburnFootball pic.twitter.com/2F3AbuSCyx
— PFF College (@PFF_College) March 1, 2024
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