Colts fifth-round rookie Jaylin Simpson looks the part of NFL CB

WESTFIELD — Jaylin Simpson thought his cornerback days were behind him.

He had given it up for the good of the team before his final college season, produced more interceptions at safety, and NFL evaluators seemed to agree. Few teams asked him about moving back to cornerback during the draft process.

But the Colts saw something else in Simpson’s profile.

“He’s got ball skills, he’s got speed and he’s got the hips that you want at corner,” Indianapolis assistant general manager Ed Dodds said. “He’s got a slighter frame, so we said, (if he’s going to play) safety, he’s going to need to put some bulk on. … We were like: ‘We think he can play corner and help us there.’”

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Five days into Simpson’s first training camp as a professional, it looks like the right decision.

Simpson does not look like a safety trying to learn the cornerback position.

The rookie looks like a cornerback. Aggressive in coverage, Simpson has been driving hard on short and intermediate routes, using his ball skills to break up throws, catching the attention of defensive backs coach Ron Milus.

“He looked quick,” Milus said after a standout Simpson practice last week. “Some of those plays he made today, OK. You’re right, he flashed. He flashed at me, too.”

Maybe Simpson’s quick transition shouldn’t be a surprise.

He spent three seasons as a cornerback at Auburn, shifting positions only because the Tigers had fellow draft picks Nehemiah Pritchett (fifth round, Seahawks) and D.J. James (sixth round, Seahawks) at cornerback.

Simpson had the identification ability to see the whole field.

“I think that’s, to be honest, one of the reasons they moved me to safety,” Simpson said. “Because of pure instincts.”

There are times he’s looked like a rookie.

Aggressive on short routes, Simpson has been beaten at times on deeper routes, leading to penalty flags on the training camp field as he scrambles to make up the difference.

Receivers at the NFL make their routes a lot more difficult to read.

“I’m just now getting into the swing of things, how they make you think one thing — they’re running the short routes, the out routes, and I’m jumping on them — and then they double-move you, they hit you over the top,” Simpson said.

He also has to re-learn how to use one of his greatest powers with a limited view of the field.

When Simpson was playing free safety for the Tigers last season, he could see the whole field easily, allowing him to pick up hints on the offense’s intentions.

“I just know, as a player, there’s not too many formations and things the offense can do,” Simpson said. “I can tell what you’re going to, and what you’re not going to do, based on what you’re giving me. I just know, a lot of times, when they’re coming.”

Reading offenses like a book is an advanced skill.

The kind that typically takes a couple of years to perfect at the NFL level.

But it is also a critical part of the NFL game, where all of the time devoted to film study, identifying tendencies and recognizing formations produces players who can whittle down an opponent’s play calls to three or four possibilities based on the down and distance.

Simpson already has a lot of faith in his own ability to read offenses.

He does have to relearn how to read defenses when he can only see half the page. When he was lined up at free safety last season, he could see the entire formation.

Outside cornerback is a different animal.

“Not being able to see a lot, a lot of times,” Simpson said. “You’re pretty much locked in on your man 90% of the time.”

Simpson’s ceiling is hard to peg.

The fifth-round pick likely will not force his way into the three-way battle among JuJu Brents, Jaylon Jones and Dallis Flowers for the two starting jobs on the outside.

But the fact he’s already flashing bodes well for his chances at a roster spot, especially considering the versatility. Indianapolis is playing Simpson exclusively at cornerback, but Milus acknowledged the team knows the rookie has the ability to play free safety if needed, even if his 6-foot, 179-pound frame is not ideal.

All of those options remain theoretical at this point.

Simpson’s focused on the only position the Colts are asking him to play right now.

“I do feel like a corner,” Simpson said. “Safety’s not there any more.”

Not if the early returns are a sign of things to come.

Follow IndyStar Colts Insider Joel A. Erickson on X at @JoelAErickson .

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts fifth-round rookie Jaylin Simpson looks the part of NFL CB