Which Titans Player is Most Valuable?

The Tennessee Titans have many players who bring value, but which one reigns supreme?

Jeremy Brener | Jan 18, 2025

Dec 29, 2024; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons (98) heads to the locker room for half time against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images / Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

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Tennessee Titans

The Tennessee Titans are coming off an awful 3-14 season that saw the franchise claim the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft for the first time since 1978, when they were known as the Houston Oilers.

However, football is a massive team game with dozens of players on the roster. The 3-14 record doesn't mean everyone was a bad egg.

In fact, ESPN writer Seth Walder ranked the top 100 "Most Valuable Player" candidates, and Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons ended up at No. 66 on the list.

The only defensive tackles that ranked higher than Simmons were Chris Jones (Kansas City Chiefs, No. 16), Leonard Williams (Seattle Seahawks, No. 44), Zach Allen (Denver Broncos, No. 47) and Cameron Heyward (Pittsburgh Steelers, No. 49).

Simmons has consistently been one of the best at his position since arriving to the Titans in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

Simmons had a career-high 76 tackles in 16 games this season for the Titans while also recording five sacks, proving to be one of the best players for a unit that ranked No. 2 in yards allowed behind the Philadelphia Eagles.

Moving forward, the Titans defense has a lot of potential, especially with Dennard Wilson leading the way as the unit's coordinator. Tennessee's record should not reflect the job that it did this season, though a reason behind the low yards likely has to do with the shorter fields that the offense gave them when it committed turnovers.

Simmons still has three years on his contract, making him one of the cornerstones of the Titans defense for the future. The defense will get some upgrades over the offseason, but Simmons will remain a constant as one of the people helping to see this rebuild through.

Make sure you bookmark Tennessee Titans on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

Published Jan 18, 2025

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several On SI sites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid and resides in Central Florida. He graduated from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.