Overview
Position: Defensive Tackle
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 301 pounds
School: Mississippi State Bulldogs
Jeffery Simmons 2019 NFL Draft Profile
One of the more controversial players of the 2019 NFL Draft hails from Mississippi State. Jeffery Simmons was a blue-chip five-star recruit out of high school and was ranked as the 10th overall prospect in the nation by Scout.com. He was the top-ranked high school prospect in the state of Mississippi after recording 105 tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss, 18.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, three blocked field goals and one interception his senior year. He went on to play in the U.S. Army All-American Game after helping Noxubee County High School win the State Championship.
However, before Simmons arrived at Mississippi State, the defensive lineman was found guilty of simple assault and malicious mischief for striking a woman repeatedly back in March of 2016. Then-Mississippi State athletic director Scott Stricklin talked to community, church and school leaders from Simmons hometown of Macon, MS to further evaluate the high school prospect’s character after the incident. Stricklin decided to stand by Simmons, and amid much criticism, allowed him to be apart of Mississippi State’s program.
Since his freshman year, Simmons has been a model student-athlete both on and off the field. On the field, Simmons totaled 163 tackles, 32.5 tackles for loss, seven sacks, five forced fumbles and three blocked field goals in 38 games over three seasons. As a student at Mississippi State, he achieved SEC Academic Honor Roll twice and won Mississippi State’s Newsome Award in 2018 for his involvement in the community, on campus and in the classroom. Simmons has had zero off the field incidents since the video surfaced in 2016 and many Mississippi State officials speak very highly of him.
He and Montez Sweat became one of the most dominant defensive line duos in the FBS and Simmons went on to be named second-team all-American by the Associated Press and first-team All-SEC in 2018. He finished as a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award in both 2017 and 2018 and won the Conerly Trophy – an award given to the best player in the state of Mississippi – in 2018. Despite his turnaround, he did not receive an invitation to the NFL Combine in 2019 for his incident in 2016. In preparation for his Pro Day, Simmons tore his ACL in his left knee and had surgery.
Strengths
- has experience lining up at the zero, one, three and five-technique;
- powerful hands at the point of attack;
- really good length and size for his position;
- uses hands well to stack offensive linemen in the run game;
- always has his eyes up and reads the action going on in the backfield;
- very quick and slippery when rushing the passer;
- has very good bend for an interior lineman;
- has a full arsenal of pass rushing moves and sets up counter moves really well;
- strong enough to bull-rush offensive linemen with consistency;
- uses long arms to disrupt passing lanes when he doesn’t reach the quarterback;
- very instinctual – has a knack for finding the ball;
- keeps pad level low when tackling ball carriers;
- strong finisher when the quarterback or ball carrier is in his grasp;
- a quick first step, beats down blocking offensive linemen repeatedly;
- drew a lot of double teams, splits double teams at an effective rate;
Weaknesses
- disappeared against a team like Alabama;
- struggles when responsible for two gaps;
- is caught guessing the wrong gap on occasions;
- relies on the bull rush too heavily at times;
- can be slowed down by the more advanced run blocking schemes;
NFL Comparison: Chris Jones
Teams With Need at Position: Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, Oakland Raiders, Seattle Seahawks
Prediction: Late first to early second round
Bottom Line
After the assault incident in 2016, Simmons has done everything possible to turn his image around while at college. He not only kept a clean record but he was a contributing member of the community and made his impact felt both on and off campus. The teams who are not willing to see past the 2016 incident will regret passing up on a once in a generation type of talent. Do not be surprised if he is nominated for the Walton Payton Man of the Year candidate multiple times in his career.
On the field, Simmons is a game changer. The timeliness of his knee injury is extremely unfortunate as the defensive tackle was projected by many to go in the top 15. His versatility and athleticism will allow him to play for any defensive scheme. Simmons possesses the tools to become an immediate starter and dominate at his position for a long time. Quinnen Williams may be the best prospect at the position in this year’s class but Simmons is not too far behind. The two of them should dominate the league for years to come.
