Cody
Simon.
Cody
Simon.
Ohio St.· 6'2"· 229 lb· 4.59s 40
"Cody Simon projects as a high-floor, high-motor inside linebacker whose above-average speed and downhill vision will be an asset in pursuit, but his NFL upside is capped by his lack of elite functional strength and sideline-to-sideline range."Pre-draft read
Simon is a downhill off-ball linebacker who wins with eyes and timing rather than with pop. He reads guards quickly, triggers on run keys without false steps, and takes clean angles to the football; on stunts and green-dog blitzes he arrives with pace, which is where most of his 12.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks as a fifth-year senior came from.
In coverage he is a zone-drop linebacker who feels routes crossing his face and passes them off cleanly. He is not a man-cover option against a slot receiver or a rangy back, and offensive linemen who get their hands on him at the second level can wall him off. Function over flash, with the tape of a starter rather than a difference maker.
Cody Simon is best suited for a 4-3 Cover-3 match defense, where his downhill ability and spatial awareness in zone coverage can be maximized.
Initially a key special teams player and rotational inside linebacker, Simon could develop into a starting Will LB with increased explosiveness and tackle efficiency.
He would struggle as a two-gap inside linebacker in a traditional 3-4 scheme due to his size limitations and lack of explosiveness against stronger blockers.
Simon's high football IQ and diagnostic skills make him a valuable asset in schemes that prioritize linebackers reading and reacting to developing plays.
NFL DRAFT HIGHLIGHTS: LB Cody Simon | Ohio State Football
Game film cut-up of Cody Simon's Ohio St. tape.
Cody Simon | Ohio State 2024 Season Highlights
Game film cut-up of Cody Simon's Ohio St. tape.
Cody Simon Ohio State Highlights
Game film cut-up of Cody Simon's Ohio St. tape.
Simon spent five years in Columbus and needed most of them to become a star. He was a rotational piece and special teamer from 2020 through 2022, started in 2023 without dominating (57 tackles), and then broke out as a fifth-year senior on the 2024 national title team: 112 tackles, 12.5 for loss, seven sacks, seven pass breakups and defensive MVP honors in both the Rose Bowl and the championship game.
The traits are good, not special. He is a shade under 6-2 and 229 pounds with 31-inch arms, ran 4.59, and posted a 7.19 three-cone that fits his short-area quickness better than his straight-line profile does. What shows up on tape is the processing: he diagnoses fast, fits runs where he is supposed to, and finishes tackles in space. The blitz production is real and repeatable because it comes from timing.
The projection is a Day 3 starter-caliber linebacker who plays 300 special-teams snaps as a rookie and grows into a Will job in a 4-3 zone-match structure. The ceiling is a three-down starter on a good defense. The floor is a core teamer who never wins the every-down role because of the length and the strength at the point of attack.
- 01
Elite processor
Player reads guards and triggers downhill without a false step.
- 02
Productive blitzer
As a senior, he recorded seven sacks and 12.5 TFL.
- 03
Reliable tackler
This player breaks down and finishes in the open field.
- 04
Zone-drop instincts
Player feels crossers and passes routes off cleanly in Cover 3 match.
- 05
Program leader
A five-year program leader with championship-game production and elite special-teams value.
- 01
Short arms
Linemen who latch at the second level can wall off the player.
- 02
Average strength
This player gets displaced when taking on pullers and fullbacks.
- 03
No man-coverage answer
He is not a man-coverage answer against slot receivers or receiving backs.
- 04
Limited range
His 4.59 speed limits sideline-to-sideline range against wide zone teams.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.59sp50
- Vertical
- 33.5inp50
- Broad jump
- 120inp50
- Three-cone
- 7.19sp50
- Shuttle
- 4.30sp50
- Bench
- 21repp50
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Ohio State | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | Ohio State | 12 | 54 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2022 | Ohio State | 12 | 32 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023 | Ohio State | 13 | 57 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2024 | Ohio State | 15 | 112 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Career | — | 57 | 259 | 10 | 1 | 11 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Honors
- First-team All-Big Ten (2024)
- CFP National Championship Game Defensive MVP (2025)
- Rose Bowl Defensive MVP (2025)
- CFP National Champion (2024)
- Big Ten Medal of Honor
High-IQ rotational starter and core special teamer with a defined but real role.
Instinctive, slightly undersized off-ball linebacker who became a productive full-time starter.
Late-round linebacker whose contributions stay almost entirely on kick coverage.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
This one landed better than the draft slot implied. Arizona took Simon at 115 and he was on the field almost immediately: 16 games, nine starts, 76 total tackles, half a sack, two pass breakups and a forced fumble as a rookie. That is the outcome the tape argued for, arriving a year earlier than the projection said it would.
What made it work is exactly what made him a fifth-year breakout in Columbus. He does not need to be schemed clean because he sees it first, and he did not lose snaps to mental errors the way most rookie linebackers do. The limitations also showed: the pass-rush production did not travel, and he was rotated in obvious dropback situations. He looks like a long-term starter in the Sanborn-plus mold rather than a defensive centerpiece, which is a strong return for the fourth round.