Jaylin Simpson (born March 17, 2000) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Auburn Tigers The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) a ...

Early life

Simpson was born in

Brunswick, Georgia Brunswick ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Glynn County, Georgia, Glynn County in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As the primary urban and economic center of the lower southeast portion of Georgia, it is the second-larges ...

and attended

Frederica Academy Frederica Academy is an independent, coeducational, college preparatory school located on Saint Simons Island, Georgia, United States. It serves students from grades Pre-K Pre-kindergarten (also called pre-K or PK) is a voluntary classro ...

. In Simpson's high school career he played both ways, primarily as a quarterback and defensive back. On offense he completed 147 out of his 282 pass attempts for 2,349 yards and 27 touchdowns to eight interceptions. Simpson also rushed for 1,286 yards and 17 touchdowns, while hauling in 39 receptions for 526 yards and seven touchdowns. On defense he notched 138 tackles with 12 going for a loss, 13 interceptions, six forced fumbles, and four defensive touchdowns. Coming out of high school, Simpson was rated a four star defensive back. He committed to play

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

over offers from

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, Clemson,

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, and

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

College career

In Simpson's first career season in 2019, he had two tackles with half a tackle being for a loss. In the covid-shortened 2020 season, he made 14 tackles with one going for a loss, and he broke up three passes. In week nine of the 2021 season, Simpson recorded his first career interception, picking off a pass thrown by quarterback

Matt Corral Matthew Anthony Corral (born January 31, 1999) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Birmingham Stallions (2022), Birmingham Stallions of the United Football League (2024), United Football League (UFL). He ...

, as he helped Auburn beat #9 Ole Miss 31-20. He finished the 2021 season with 27 tackles with one being for a loss, three pass deflections, and an interception. In week twelve of the 2022 season, he had a career performance where he broke up three passes and recorded an interception, as he helped the Tigers beat

Western Kentucky Western Kentucky is the western portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It generally includes part or all of several more widely recognized regions of the state. ;Always included * The Jackson Purchase, the state's westernmost generally recogniz ...

41-17. Simpson finished his 2022 season with 37 tackles, five pass deflections, and two interceptions. Over the 2022 offseason, Simpson switched his position from cornerback to safety. Simpson opened the 2023 season strong as in week one, he had three tackles, a fumble recovery, and an interception which he returned 50 yards for a touchdown, as he helped Auburn dominate

UMass The University of Massachusetts is the public university system of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes six campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, a medical school in Worcester and a law school in Dartmouth ...

59-14. At the conclusion of the 2023 season he was named a member of the

All-SEC The All-SEC football team is an annual Southeastern Conference (SEC) honor bestowed on the best players in the conference following every college football season. Seasons Following is a list of all-conference teams in the history of the SEC: * ...

first team.

Professional career

Indianapolis Colts

The

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

drafted Simpson in the fifth round, with the 164th overall selection, of the

2024 NFL draft The 2024 NFL draft was the 89th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft was held at Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza in Detroit on April 25–27, 2024. The draft had an attendanc ...

. Prior to offseason camp, the Colts announced that Simpson would shift from safety to cornerback. He was waived on August 27, and re-signed to the practice squad.

New York Jets

On December 11, 2024, Simpson was signed by the

off the Colts practice squad.

References

External links

New York Jets bioAuburn Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Jaylin 2000 births Living people Players of American football from Glynn County, Georgia American football safeties Auburn Tigers football players Indianapolis Colts players New York Jets players