STRENGTHS - Simon has above average height for a CB. He shows the ability to jam at the line of scrimmage, looked to use his hands well to jam and is very physical at the LOS. He flips his hips quickly and his solid footwork enables to him change direction well in maintaining solid coverage. He showed the ability to close quickly on throws and shows solid ball skills in knocking the ball away. He shows the ability to play tight coverage over the middle without penalty. Simon has the awareness and reacts well when ball carriers are going towards the side & will take the angle to force them to go towards the sideline.
WEAKNESSES - There were times in the games that I viewed where Simon seemed disinterested on run plays and also looked to avoid the contact. In coverage he shows the closing speed, however against the run he does not show the explosive ability to go up and make the tackle. On tape, Simon showed the lack of speed to maintain coverage down the field and his vulnerability on deep coverage. Simon will need to improve on disengaging blocks in the open field. This is either due to lack of strength or the lack of want in going for the tackle. In the Florida game he was blocked by the QB & did not seem to show the effort to break from it.
SUMMARY - Simon is a tall, physical corner who likes to jam at the LOS. He shows very quick hip flip and his footwork allows him to change direction well in maintaining coverage over the middle and medium routes. On tape he looked to have the tendency to be vulnerable to getting beat down the field on deep routes. He has very good ball skills and reacts and closes quickly on throws on his side of the field. He shows very good awareness and intelligence when the ball carrier is going up the sideline and will take a solid position and force the ball carrier to run towards the sideline. While Simon can be a physical player, there were times where he seemed to take plays off, especially on run plays. His lack of effort to close on the ball carrier or make the blow up hit when the opportunity presents itself makes me question his toughness and lack of want. He will also need to improve on disengaging from blocks in the open field. Whether this is because of lack of effort or lack of strength, either way he will need to improve. Overall, Simon is a very good corner that will be physical at the line, can maintain coverage over the middle and has very good ball skills and combined with his height will make him a very attractable player to NFL teams. At this point he does not show the overall skill set to be a starter from day 1, but the talent level is there to become a starter in the near future.