One of the most intriguing players in this yearβs draft is Mississippi State defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons. In terms of talent, Simmons is one of the best prospects, but there are other things that need to be considered. First is an off the field incident that occurred when Simmons was in high school. While what he did in high school was horrific, according to reports he has been a model citizen while in college. The second concern is that he tore his ACL and will be coming into the NFL as a rehabbing player.
Simmons is a big man. He is 6β4β and 301 lbs and has the versatility to play multiple schemes. Due to his off the field issues in high school, he was not invited to the Combine, not that he would have been able to participate anyway, due to the ACL injury. NFL Networkβs Lance Zierlein has compared Simmons to Ndamukong Suh and after seeing his strengths it is easy to see why.
In his three seasons in college, he had 163 tackles and 32.5 of them were tackles for loss. His sack numbers went down in 2018, but his tackles for loss went up which still shows how explosive Simmons was in college and how explosive he can be at the next level. However, he does need to develop his pass rushing moves.
Some of his strengths include his ability to shred blockers. His physicality and motor make him tough for offensive linemen to handle. He is also instinctive, athletic and strong. The way the NFL is now, you need to bring pressure up the middle. Simmons has the ability to do that and make opposing quarterbacks feel the pocket collapsing around them.
Sometimes Simmons gets out of position trying to make a play which is something he will need to focus on not doing at the next level. He is also very raw and needs time to develop. During his time rehabbing, he will have the opportunity to learn the game on a cerebral level, even if he cannot take the field. If he takes that seriously and learns from the coaches and veteran players, he can one day be considered a top defensive tackle.
The Browns have had a private meeting with Simmons, so obviously there is some interest there. If the Browns do draft him, he can be given the opportunity to take it slow and make sure his rehab is going well, as the Browns have Larry Ogunjobi and Sheldon Richardson as their starting defensive tackles. The big question is will the Browns be able to get him at pick #49 or will they need to trade up. Some teams will not have Simmons on their draft board because of his high school indiscretion, but GM John Dorsey has shown that he is willing to draft players who had some issues in their pasts.
Do not be surprised if the Browns trade in to the end of the 1stΒ round on Thursday night April 25thΒ to draft Simmons.
More Cleveland Sports News Click Here
If you enjoy hearing from the legends of pro sports, then be sure to tune into βThe Grueling Truthβ sports shows, βWhere the legends speakβ
Contact us: [email protected]
Players must be 21 years of age or older or reach the minimum age for gambling in their respective state and located in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal. Please play responsibly. Bet with your head, not over it. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, and wants help, call or visit: (a) the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey at 1-800-Gambler or www.800gambler.org; or (b) Gamblers Anonymous at 855-2-CALL-GA or www.gamblersanonymous.org.
This site is using Cloudflare and adheres to the Google Safe Browsing Program. We adapted Google's Privacy Guidelines to keep your data safe at all times.