Tennessee Titans defensive front
The Titans have spent two decades building their identity around the guys who line up with a hand in the dirt. From Jevon Kearse’s rookie wrecking-ball season in 1999 to Jeffery Simmons collapsing pockets from the three-technique, Tennessee’s trenches have produced some of the most physically freakish bodies in the league.
And the body stats matter here more than almost any other position group. Defensive tackles live in a world where 300 pounds is average and 360 is a weapon. Edge rushers need 35-inch arms and sub-4.6 speed at 260 pounds. The measurables aren’t trivia — they’re the job description.
Here’s a look at the biggest, strongest and most disruptive bodies to anchor the Titans’ defensive front, past and present.
1. Jeffery Simmons
Image: Tennessee Titans / CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Simmons stands 6 ft 4 in and plays around 305 lbs, and he’s the reason opposing centers need help. Born July 28, 1997 in Macon, Mississippi, he tore his ACL in March 2019 — two months before the draft — and the Titans took him 19th overall anyway. That gamble paid off fast.
He’s made three straight Pro Bowls (2021–2023) and posted a career-best 8.5 sacks in 2021 from the interior. In April 2023 Tennessee handed him a four-year extension worth about $94 million, making him one of the highest-paid defensive tackles in football. His combination of mass and first-step quickness is rare at that weight.
2. T’Vondre Sweat
Image: Tennessee Titans / CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Sweat weighed in at 366 lbs at the 2024 NFL Combine — the heaviest player there — standing 6 ft 4 in. He’s a genuine two-gap nose tackle in an era when most teams don’t have one. The Titans took him 38th overall in the second round out of Texas.
He won the 2023 Outland Trophy as the best interior lineman in college football, which almost never goes to a defensive player. Pairing him next to Simmons gave Tennessee close to 670 lbs of defensive tackle on the field at once.
3. Harold Landry III
Listed at 6 ft 2 in and 252 lbs, Landry was built lean and bendy — the classic speed-rush frame. Boston College produced him, and the Titans grabbed him 41st overall in 2018.
His 12-sack season in 2021 earned a Pro Bowl nod. Then he tore his ACL in August 2022 and missed the entire year. He came back and put up 10.5 sacks in 2023, which tells you plenty about how he rebuilt his legs. Tennessee released him in March 2025.
4. Jevon Kearse
Image: Airman 1st Class Kylee Tyus / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
“The Freak” earned the nickname honestly. Kearse measured 6 ft 4 in, 262 lbs, with arms long enough and hands big enough that scouts made a whole mythology out of his wingspan. He ran in the 4.4s at that size.
As a rookie in 1999 he racked up 14.5 sacks, won NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, made the Pro Bowl and helped drag Tennessee to Super Bowl XXXIV. He made three straight Pro Bowls to open his career.
5. Albert Haynesworth
Image: All-Pro Reels / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At 6 ft 6 in and about 320 lbs, Haynesworth was the most physically overwhelming defensive tackle of his era. First-round pick in 2002, he was first-team All-Pro in both 2007 and 2008 — a two-year stretch where he was arguably the best defensive player alive.
He also carried baggage, including a five-game suspension in 2006 after stomping on Cowboys center Andre Gurode. His 2009 free-agency contract with Washington was worth up to $100 million.
6. Jurrell Casey
Casey was short for the position — 6 ft 1 in, around 305 lbs — and used it. Low pad level, wide base, impossible to move backward. The Titans found him in the third round out of USC in 2011.
He made five consecutive Pro Bowls from 2015 to 2019 and left Tennessee with 51 career sacks, one of the best interior totals in franchise history. Traded to Denver in 2020, he suffered a season-ending biceps injury in Week 3.
7. Kyle Vanden Bosch
6 ft 4 in, 278 lbs, and famous for playing with bloodshot red eyes from a contact lens condition. Vanden Bosch signed with Tennessee in 2005 after injuries nearly ended him in Arizona, then posted 12.5 sacks that first season.
He made Pro Bowls in 2005, 2007 and 2008. Pure motor guy — the kind of rusher who wins on the fourth effort rather than the first step.
8. Denico Autry
At 6 ft 5 in and 285 lbs, Autry was Tennessee’s inside-outside chess piece from 2021 to 2023. He finished the 2023 season with 11.5 sacks — at age 33, which almost nobody does at that position.
Undrafted out of Mississippi State in 2014, he built a long career on length and hand usage rather than explosiveness. He signed with Houston in 2024.
9. Dre’Mont Jones
Jones checks in at 6 ft 3 in, 281 lbs — undersized for a tackle, heavy for an end, which is exactly the point. The Ohio State product was a third-round pick by Denver in 2019 and posted 6.5 sacks in 2022 before cashing in with Seattle.
He joined Tennessee in 2025 as an interior rusher who can slide outside on obvious passing downs.
10. Oluwafemi Oladejo
Oladejo is 6 ft 3 in, 259 lbs, and the most interesting developmental body on the roster. He played off-ball linebacker at UCLA before moving to the edge midway through the 2024 season — and immediately looked like he belonged there.
Tennessee took him 52nd overall in the 2025 draft. He’s raw as a pass rusher but has the frame to add another 10 lbs without losing speed.
What ties these ten together is a specific physical profile the Titans keep chasing: long arms, heavy hands, and enough athleticism to not get stuck as a pure run-stopper. Simmons and Sweat are the current version of that formula, and Sweat’s 366 lbs next to Simmons’ 305 is the heaviest starting tackle duo the franchise has ever fielded.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the best player on the Tennessee Titans defensive front?
Jeffery Simmons tops the list — a 6 ft 4 in, 305 lb three-technique with three straight Pro Bowls from 2021 to 2023 and a career-best 8.5 sacks in 2021.
Who is the heaviest player on the Titans defensive line?
T’Vondre Sweat, who weighed 366 lbs at the 2024 NFL Combine — the heaviest player there — at 6 ft 4 in tall.
How was this Titans defensive front list ranked?
Players were ranked by a mix of measurables (height, weight, arm length, speed) and on-field disruption such as sacks, Pro Bowls and draft pedigree.
How much do Jeffery Simmons and T’Vondre Sweat weigh together?
Roughly 670 lbs combined, giving Tennessee one of the heaviest defensive tackle pairings on the field in the NFL.
Why was Jevon Kearse called ‘The Freak’?
Kearse stood 6 ft 4 in and 262 lbs with an enormous wingspan and ran in the 4.4s, posting 14.5 sacks as a 1999 rookie and winning Defensive Rookie of the Year.
What are typical size requirements for a Titans edge rusher?
Edge rushers generally need around 35-inch arms and sub-4.6 speed at roughly 250–262 lbs, the lean build seen in Harold Landry III at 6 ft 2 in and 252 lbs.
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Last Updated: November 1, 2026 | Source: Healthy Celeb
