Around this time every year, ESPN releases a list of the top 10 NFL players at every position group. These lists are the result of polling NFL coaches, executives, and scouts on the players they spend their lives watching.

There is no higher honor than being recognized by your peers as the best at what you do. But sometimes, these rankings can be a good source of motivation.

That’s the case for Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons in 2024, who was ranked the 4th best defensive tackle in this year’s league poll.

In a recent interview with Ramon, Kayla, and Will on 104.5 The Zone, Simmons discussed some of his goals for the 2024 season and reflected on where he was ranked.

“Being in that talk with them sometimes make you feel good,” said Simmons about being in the conversation with defensive tackles like Chris Jones. “But it’s one of those things where I’m very hard on myself. I’m like ‘it’s not good enough.”

“My family, they’re big on that. They’ll see stuff with the rankings and they’ll post it and I’m like ‘I’m not reposting that! I don’t care about that. If you’re not one, you’re last,'” said Simmons. “I want to be the best defensive tackle in this game and that’s my goal this year. To continue to elevate my career because, quite frankly I haven’t reached that peak yet.”

As wild as it might be to say, Simmons isn’t wrong. Given the injuries he battled through last season, it’s not crazy to think that his best football could still be ahead of him. While Simmons is easily a Top 5, probably a Top 3 defensive tackle in the sport, I can absolutely foresee a future where he overtakes Chris Jones for the league’s top spot.

Big Jeff with a chip on his shoulder is bad news for the rest of the league. If he takes that jump, Tennessee’s defense is going to be really solid this fall. It sounds like the Titans’ star has something to prove in 2024.