Former Clemson offensive lineman John Simpson took advantage of this offseason and is ready to take the next step in his second year in the NFL.
The Las Vegas Raiders guard worked hard over the offseason to gain weight and strength without sacrificing the athleticism and flexibility the Raiders saw when they selected him in the fourth round (109th overall) of the 2020 NFL Draft.
“This offseason has been going really good for me, actually,” Simpson said while speaking to reporters on Tuesday. “There’s still some things that I’ve got to work on to be the best that I can be. But it’s definitely helped having the offseason, compared to last year. We only had training camp and stuff like that. So, I feel like I’m way ahead of where I was last year.”
Raiders offensive coordinator Greg Olson said recently the coaching staff is excited about Simpson (listed at 6-foot-4, 321 pounds) and that he ended up being the team’s strongest player coming out of its offseason program.
“If his work ethic has anything to do with how he’s going to take the next step this year, if that has anything to say about it, he’ll be a much better player,” Olson said.
Simpson, who played in seven games and started two as a rookie in 2020, knew he had to make the weight room an even bigger point of emphasis for him this offseason in order to be a better offensive lineman in his second NFL campaign.
“I feel like playing offensive line, you always want to be stronger and faster than your opponent,” he said. “So, even last year I was working hard, working as hard as I could in the weight room and stuff like that. But like I said before, I just always want to get stronger or be better than I was previously. So, I think that had a lot to do with why I took more advantage of the weight room.”
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