The narrative surrounding Jeffery Simmons has been in a weird place for a while now.
Whether you like it or not, he’s been a face of this franchise for the past half decade. Today, he’s the longest tenured Titan left on the roster. And according to his coaches and teammates, he’s the best pro on the team.
I’m not entirely sure where the fanbase falls on that question at the moment. I’d hope that the vast majority would agree, that he’s still the best player on this team. I don’t think it’s particularly arguable at the moment, though these things can change in a hurry. But even while acknowledging he’s the most talented guy on the roster, there are a lot of fans out there who love to hate on Simmons these days. He lives in this odd purgatory in the collective consciousness of Titans fans, where he’s an elite player who isn’t living up to expectations. The talent level is sky high, but the production is just not quite enough. Some even seem to let their perception of him off the field bleed into their overall opinion of him as a player.
Well, in ESPN’s anonymous poll of NFL coaches and executives, the rest of the league seems to be on the same page as the Titans coaches and players:
The best defensive tackle doing it right now is the Giants’ Dexter Lawrence according to this poll, followed by the Chiefs’ Chris Jones and the Eagles’ Jalen Carter. Then in 4th place is the Titans’ Jeffery Simmons, still regarded as being in elite company by the pros.
Despite just 5 sacks and 9 QB hits in 2024, Simmons still received very high marks for the work he’s done on some downright bad Titans teams the past couple years. Some voters pointed this out, baking the number of double teams and general pass rush help he’s been receiving into the equation when ranking him.
Me personally, I take no issue with this ranking. And I find the general disquiet over Simmons amongst Titans fans pretty odd. So many seem to have this idealized version of Simmons stuck in their heads, refusing to accept less than perfect from him. To me, it’s not hard to see what Simmons is at this point. He’s the best player on the team right now. He’s an elite DT, whose floor falls short of the all-time freaks who consistently take over games no matter their situation. No, he’s not Aaron Donald or Chris Jones. But guess what? Those guys are Hall of Famers. Is that your bar? I don’t know why it would be. He’s also not the perfect leader so many people seem to want him to become. He’s no Kevin Byard, the well-spoken Boy Scout who can do no wrong at the podium or in a public practice. Very few people are that guy.
At his best, Simmons is an effective leader on this team and a true game-wrecker. And while that isn’t entirely consistent, it happens enough to make him a huge asset and undeniable weapon for this team. Why so many struggle to accept Simmons for what he is, and merely hold him to a higher statistical standard when his consistency wanes like we do with any other star player through their ups and downs, I may never understand. But his teammates, coaches, and now others across the NFL have made it clear: he’s one of the best doing it right now.
