The NFL continues its disrespect to the Tennessee’s best player. We layout how the NFL ranked Simmons way too low.
We get it. The Tennessee Titans have been one of the laughing stalks of the NFL for several seasons now. No judgement there. But when it comes to giving respect to the leagues best Defensive Tackle, the NFL ignored the favor. There may not be many bright spots on this Titans roster, but the biggest and brightest light out of Tennessee comes from the All-Pro DT, Jeffery Simmons.
Just a few weeks ago, Jeffery Simmons broke the bank by signing a 3 year $100+ million contract to stay in Tennessee. That shattered a record for defensive tackles in the league. That alone should tell the NFL he deserves a higher spot in the yearly player rankings. But why else is this ranking disrespectful? Here is a few reasons from this season alone:
https://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/comments/1ulmg5i/highlight_no_83_on_the_nfl_top_100_players_of/
1. Simmons led ALL defensive tackles in pressures Despite being ranked No. 83, Simmons was the NFL’s most disruptive interior pass rusher. These stats can’t be ignored: - 60 Total Pressures (1st among DTs) - 26 quick pressures (1st) - 18 pressures vs. double teams (1st) - 13.9% pressure rate (1st)
2. Simmons posted a career-best production 2025 was arguably Simmons best season of his 6 year career, here is how: - 67 Tackles - 17 Tackles for a loss - 3 forced fumbles - First Team All - Pro
3. PFF graded Simmons as one of NFL’s elite Independent grading backs up what the film shows. PFF notes: - 88.3 overall grade (3rd among 134 interior defenders) - 91.4 pass-rusher grade (1st among DTs) - 64 pressures ( 2nd)
4. Simmons was double teamed consistently The NFL’s best offensive lines had one goal every week: don’t let No. 98 wreck the game. They routinely committed two blockers to Simmons - and it still did not work. - 4.3% of Simmons’ pass rush snaps came against double teams - 18 QB pressures against double teams (1st) - Since 2021, Simmons ranks as 2nd in the entire NFL with 70 pressures while being double teamed, trailing only Quinnen Williams (73 pressures) - Simmons also recorded the fastest average time to pressure - 2.48 seconds (1st)
The 2025 All-Pro put the NFL on notice again this year, but come 2026 he will be after blood and respect. The NFL’s own awards recognized Jeffery Simmons as the best defensive tackle in football. Yet the NFL Top 100 ranked him 83rd overall. Those two evaluations simply don’t align. If you’re the best at one of the league’s most valuable defensive positions, you should be much closer to the Top 25 than the bottom of the Top 100.
