Auburn defensive back Jaylin Simpson drafted to Indianapolis Colts

Auburn defensive back Jaylin Simpson was selected in the NFL Draft with the No. 164 pick by the Indianapolis Colts in the fifth round.

The 2023 Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist, Simpson collected 118 career tackles and seven interceptions over his five seasons at Auburn.

Simpson, a senior, had four interceptions in his first five games of the 2023 campaign — one of which he returned for a touchdown. With a fumble recovery against UMass, Simpson led the Tigers with five takeaways on the season.

Simpson received several honors throughout the 2023 regular season, including being named a midseason All-American by the Associated Press, and this week he was named second team All-SEC by the league's coaches.

It wasn’t anymore apparent that Simpson was the heartbeat of Ron Robert’s first defense at Auburn than in the closing moments of this year’s Deep South Oldest Rivalry. When Auburn’s star safety went down in the fourth quarter, Georgia was able to make the big plays through the air to Brock Bowers to secure a win.

“It truly hurt us when Jaylin Simpson went out in the fourth quarter. I mean, to that point, I believe I’m right in saying Bowers had two or three catches. When Jaylin went out, we lost our best bracket guy,” Hugh Freeze said of Simpson following a 27-20 loss to the two-time defending champions.

In the 2023 regular season, Simpson also had 36 total tackles, 28 of which were solo, and 1.5 tackles for loss totaling 4 yards.

“(Simpson) has been an energy-leader, fun for me to be around on the sideline, always cutting up with me in practice. He's been a joy to coach truthfully and has played really well,” Freeze said of the Auburn safety following the bye week. 

The now former Auburn Tiger will join the Colts who finished the 2023 season with a 9-8 record and third in the AFC South division race.