Baltimore Ravens left guard
John Simpson: 139 snaps
Primary matchup: Maliek Collins, DJ Reader
John Simpson won the starting left guard job in training camp and never looked back. The Baltimore Ravens have made Sala Aumavae-Laulu inactive as they clearly saw Simpson as the better option. Through two weeks, it has made sense. Simpson held his own against the Houston Texans.
He has done a great job of getting to the second level as a blocker and extending runs. However, his pass rush has been up and down at times. Simpson held up against Maliek Collins in week one, but in week two, D.J. Reader beat him too often with power. We saw enough in the run game from Simpson not to be concerned, but this was a matchup loss, and he could not hold up.
Will this be a reoccurring issue for Simpson where the level of play determines his ability? Still, Collins has some talent as well, so it is not like he went from a weak matchup to a tough one; he went from above average to one of the best.
John Simpson Grade: B-