The NFL is in its annual summer coma. Minicamps are wrapped, and training camps are still a week and change away. To fill the void, the league’s media machine is slowly dripping out its annual Top 100 list. It is, as usual, a joke.
They put Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons at No. 83. Eighty-third. Bobby Wagner, who is currently unemployed, sits at No. 81. It’s lazy. But while the players’ vote is a popularity contest, the people who actually build rosters see the tape.
ESPN recently polled NFL executives, scouts, and coaches to rank the league’s best interior defensive linemen. They didn’t miss. They put Simmons at No. 2.
He earned it. Simmons dropped 20 pounds before last season to add speed to his already absurd power. The gamble paid off. He wrecked game plans weekly, racking up 11 sacks and a 16.3% pass-rush win rate. He did this while being double-teamed on over 65% of his snaps. That win rate was second among all defensive tackles, and his 17 tackles for loss led the league’s interior. He almost took the top spot. One veteran defensive coach pointed out how incredible Simmons’ tape was, especially considering he was playing on a miserable three-win team with zero help around him. He still forced three fumbles and hit the quarterback 21 times. He beat double-teams for 20 pass-rush wins. That earned him a first-team All-Pro nod and a massive three-year, $105.8 million extension. His strength is elite. Now his pass rush is catching up.
Simmons finished the year with 67 tackles, those 11 sacks, and 13 run stuffs. But the box score is a lie. It doesn’t show the sheer violence he plays with. He brings a nasty, infectious energy to a defensive line. He is the anchor.
Only Seattle’s Leonard Williams ranked higher in the poll, with Philadelphia’s Jalen Carter sitting at third. But if Seattle falters, expect Simmons to claim the crown.
It is funny how differently the suits and the players see the game. Simmons has been a monster for years, but playing for a basement-dwelling Titans team means the national media ignores him. You can’t hide the film, though. The scouts see it. Opposing coordinators lose sleep over it. The players will figure it out eventually.
