Jeffery Simmons is the kind of star you notice before the ball is even snapped. The Tennessee Titans might be grinding through a tough season, but every Sunday, there is one constant on their defense: number 98 exploding off the line, wrecking whatever the offense had planned. In his seventh season out of Mississippi State, having spent his entire career in Nashville, Simmons has grown from a promising first-round pick into the heartbeat of the Titans’ defense.
Watch the Titans for just a few drives, and his impact is impossible to miss. Lined up inside, hand in the dirt, he coils like a spring, then fires into the guard’s chest with violent hands and unreal quickness for a 300-pounder. Offensive coordinators circle his name all week and still cannot slow him down. He does not just occupy space; he erases it, collapsing pockets from the inside out and forcing quarterbacks to flee into the waiting arms of his teammates.
This year, the numbers finally match what the film has been screaming. Among all interior defensive linemen in the NFL, Simmons sits at the very top in pass rush grade at 90.9, a testament to how often he wins his one-on-one battles. His pass rush win rate of 19.3 is the best of any inside defender, meaning nearly one out of every five rushes ends with him beating his blocker clean. He also leads all interior linemen with nine sacks, turning pressure into production and killing drives when the Titans need it most.
What makes his rise even more impressive is the context around him. The Titans are not dominating the standings, yet Simmons plays every snap as if the season is on the line. He commands double teams, eats chips from backs and tight ends, and still finds ways to split gaps and blow up plays. Teammates feed off his energy. Fans see it in the way the defense comes alive when he makes a big stop or buries a quarterback in the backfield.
Jeffery Simmons is no longer just a good player on a struggling team. He is the engine of the Titans’ defense, one of the most dominant forces in the league, and a player whose name deserves to be mentioned with the very best at his position. In a season full of questions for Tennessee, he has become the easy answer.