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There's been an abundance of praise for former Mississippi State defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons this offseason.

Some analysts have projected that he'll get his first-ever Pro Bowl nod this year after experiencing a lot of success with the Tennessee Titans in 2020 -- but it doesn't stop there.

Far from there, really.

An ESPN list ranking the top interior defensive lineman in the NFL ahead of the upcoming season including a bit where an unnamed NFL executive had pinned Simmons as "the closest thing" to Los Angeles Rams standout Aaron Donald.

Here's a look at the complete quote from that executive and others, via Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.

We get it, some are leery of the "unnamed" stuff that goes around ahead of the season, but compliments like these are certainly a lot to be proud of for Simmons and his supporters.

Simmons might be the least accomplished on this list, but he is also one of the scariest.

“No one is Aaron Donald, but he might be the closest,” said an NFL general manager.

Added an NFC exec: “He’s the one everyone knows is coming. Talent-wise, he’s probably top-three. He’s respected as such, at least how we block him.”

Opponents double-teamed Simmons on 190 pass-rush snaps, higher than every interior rusher aside from Donald and Grady Jarrett. Simmons led all players in the top 10 in interior line run-stop win rate, at 39.8%.

The pass-rush production isn’t there yet — he had just three sacks in 2020, along with a 6.7% pass-rush win rate — but it will be as he stacks healthy seasons. A torn ACL limited his rookie campaign in 2019.

“Highest upside — he just does different stuff, and was basically playing on one leg and was pretty good early on,” an AFC scout said.

In 2020, Simmons started all 15 games he saw action in, 14 quarterback hits and five pass breakups. He also had 49 total tackles (24 solo), three tackles for loss and three sacks.

He's shaping up to have even more of a breakout season in 2021, and will have some of the pressure taken off of him with the likes of outside linebacker Bud Dupree and defensive lineman Denico Autry on that side of the ball with him.