Simpson begins life as a pro

By Steve Cannuli

Published: April 28, 2008

The Cincinnati Bengals drafted Jerome Simpson nearly three days ago and yet the Reidsville native is still on cloud nine.

“It’s still sinking in now,” said Simpson Monday. “I woke up the next morning and it wasn’t a dream.”

Simpson, who was taken with the 15th pick in the second round (No. 46 overall), now begins the life of a National Football League rookie.

On Thursday, the former Coastal Carolina wide receiver leaves for Cincinnati where he will take part in the Bengals’ mini camp, which runs through the weekend.

It will be the first chance for Simpson to meet the entire coaching staff, management staff and most importantly, some of his teammates.

“I’m not sure what all will go on, but I’ve been told there are a lot of meetings and then we get on the field,” he said.

Simpson, who re-wrote the Coastal Carolina receiving record book, has fielded a multitude of phone calls from relatives, friends and former coaches.

Cincinnati head coach Marvin Lewis, who is set to begin his fifth season with the Bengals, has been surrounded by a myriad of off-the-field problems with a number of his players.

Lewis sees nothing but good things in his newly acquired wide receiver.

“I am very impressed with him,” he said during a news conference on Saturday.

“What we have here is a guy who’s a top-notch young man,” added offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski. “He’s very healthy and he has a big upside to him.”

While most college players were glued to their television sets awaiting phone calls and good news, Simpson was spending a relaxing day with family in Winston-Salem.

Late Saturday afternoon, while traveling down U.S. 29 with his family, Simpson received a phone call from Lewis and it was then that Simpson’s lifelong dream became a reality.

“This is a blessing, this is a dream come true. The Bengals believed in me,” said Simpson Saturday night.

Simpson added that he taped the NFL Draft and watched it later.

According to Todd McShay of scouts.com Simpson was projected to be chosen by the Bengals, but in round three not two.

However, mad scramble for wide receivers ensued early in the second round.

Five of the first 11 picks in round two were wide receivers and Simpson was the sixth.

The wide receiver scramble did not stop with Simpson as DeSean Jackson of California, Malcolm Kelly of Oklahoma and Limas Sweed of Texas followed the former CCU Chanticleer.

Following this weekend’s mini-camp, Simpson and agent Dave Butz II will then go through the process of getting the former Reidsville Ram his first professional contract.

That is a process Simpson is not concerned about at all.

“I haven’t talked with my agent about contract stuff yet,” he said. “Right now I am just concerned with football.”

Bengals’ training camp, which is located at Georgetown College in Georgetown, Ky., opens the last week in July.

Then begins the process of earning a roster spot, something that Lewis is firmly counting on.

“When picking a receiver this early, he needs to come in and fill a void,” said Lewis. “We wanted to find a guy who we felt had the stature to be able to do that and to have the physical tools to get away from bump-and-run coverage and things like that.”

Lewis added that finding Simpson was a ‘pretty in-depth process.’

The idea of Simpson coming from a small school such as CCU, where the competition may not be the same as the SEC or Big 12 Conference, is not something that bothered Bratkowski.

“…Granted he comes from a small school, but when you look at small schools, you look for productivity. He had the productivity with 44 career touchdowns and he had the measurables.”

The Cincinnati coaches were impressed by Simpson’s long jump and vertical leap at the NFL Combine in addition to having the longest arms and biggest hands of anyone at the February event.

Come July, Simpson will be catching passes from quarterback Carson Palmer and lining up alongside such WRs as T.J. Houshmandzadeh and possibly Chad Johnson.

Johnson, an eight-year veteran who had 93 receptions a year ago, is talking of a holdout unless the Bengals trade him.

A possible Johnson departure would leave a tremendous void at the wideout position. Houshmandzadeh led the team with 112 catches for the 8-8 Bengals last season.

Simpson’s first taste of “official” NFL action will be at Green Bay on Aug. 11 – the team’s preseason opener.

The Bengals also have exhibition dates with Detroit, New Orleans and at Indianapolis.

During the regular season, Simpson could be trying his skill up against such teams as the Pittsburgh Steelers (televised on the NFL Network), the Dallas Cowboys, rival Cleveland Browns and the defending world champion New York Giants.

“I am going to try to get them to as many games as possible,” said Simpson on getting his family members season tickets.

Simpson became the first Ram football player since Na Brown in 1999 to be selected by an NFL squad. Brown was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth round (130th overall) and played three seasons in the NFL.

To see the entire Cincinnati Bengals draft day news conference, check out http://www.bengals.com.