Despite a record-breaking contract and elite production while injured, Tennessee’s star defender faces a surprising lack of respect from peers and scouts as national rankings spark controversy.
If you ask people here in Nashville what they think about Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, you will probably get a consistent answer.
I would guarantee that many Titans fans consider him to be the best player at his position. We've seen how dominant he can be over the course of his seven-year career with the Titans.
He even just had the best year of his career last year with an injured elbow. If you've seen Simmons in the last couple of seasons, you may have noticed that he's played with an elbow brace.
He shared in an offseason interview that he wasn't able to fully extend his elbow and underwent a procedure in February to correct it. For context, Simmons had 67 total tackles, 11 sacks, and 17 TFLs last season with that same elbow ailment.
Now, he's going to be playing in a system that favors versatile defensive tackles like Simmons with head coach Robert Saleh. We may have even seen the best from Simmons yet.
The Titans have recognized how special a player Simmons is, awarding him a three-year extension worth $105.9 million. That deal made him the highest-paid DT in the NFL.
While most people in the Music City would agree that Simmons is absolutely the best player in the NFL, there are mixed signals coming from elsewhere.
Just before the 4th of July, the NFL Top 100 list was updated, and Simmons came in at No. 83.
36-year-olds Bobby Wagner and Travis Kelce were a couple of the players ranked ahead of Simmons. That list is voted on exclusively by current NFL players, but it's still concerning that Simmons' peers view him so lowly.
Even though he's paid like it, it's clear that current NFL players don't view Simmons as the best DT in football.
Then, an article came out on ESPN on Thursday that raised even more questions.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler published an article in which anonymous NFL executives, coaches, and scouts ranked the league's top 10 defensive tackles.
Simmons came in at No. 2, which still feels disrespectful considering the numbers he put up compared to the person ranked ahead of him.
He was ranked below Seattle Seahawks DT Leonard Williams. Williams had 62 total tackles, seven sacks and nine TFLs.
It's clear that the NFL world still doesn't think that Simmons is the best player at his position, but it's hard to tell what the community really thinks of him.
Between that article from ESPN and the NFL Top 100, it's a little confusing.
On the one hand, his peers see him as the 83rd-best player in the NFL. Then executives, coaches and scouts don't see him as the best DT in the league, but he's close at No. 2.
Which is it? There is very little consistency in how Simmons is viewed around the country.
Titans fans agree that Simmons is the best at what he does. It seems the NFL can't agree on how they feel about the defensive tackle, who is entering his eighth NFL season in 2026.
I think we all know how the people of Nashville feel about Big Jeff at least.
