From coaching incompetence to uncompetitive losses, being a Tennessee Titans’ fan in 2025 was not been a fun experience. However, there is one aspect of it that every other fanbase should be jealous of – getting to watch 15 games of Jeffery Simmons, the most dominant interior force in football.
Nobody would’ve blamed Simmons one bit if he took a slight step back on such a poor defense or if his effort dipped on the occasional rep. He also easily could have requested a trade to go to a contender and compete for a Super Bowl. Instead, he stayed in Nashville and elevated his game to a whole new level.
According to PFF, Simmons led all interior defensive linemen in sacks, pressure rate, pass run win rate and defensive stops. He’s doing every aspect of his job at the highest level, despite the situation around him being nowhere close to ideal. His pass rush win rate of 19.4% was nearly double that of the Titans’ next best rusher, Arden Key. Opposing offenses had every reason to send all available resources his way, and it just didn’t matter.
Titans DT Jeffery Simmons has reached elite status
Hopefully this is the year you will start to hear Simmons’ name in conversations about the best defensive players in football. He might not have the same name value, but when you watch him play, it’s very clear that he’s just as good, if not even better than guys like Chris Jones and Dexter Lawrence. Simmons should be named a First-Team All-Pro for the first time in his career, and it would be a real shame if the season he’s put together isn’t fully recognized.
If he does receive that honor, there’s plenty of reason to believe that it won’t be the last time. Cameron Heyward and Chris Jones both made their first at 28 years old and have combined for seven of them since. Calais Campbell is a similar story, making all six of his Pro Bowls after turning 28.
Perhaps this history at the position went into Mike Borgonzi’s decision to not entertain trade offers for the superstar lineman. We’ll never know for sure what the Titans’ could have gotten in return at the trade deadline, but it’s really hard to imagine those picks would yield anything close to the level of production Simmons will continue to provide as this rebuild moves along.