Football Trade Trees

← All stories

Two First-Round Picks for a Defensive Tackle

October 29, 2026

Defensive tackles do not cost two first-round picks. In the common draft era — every season since 1967 — none ever had. Then, on Thursday morning, the Chicago Bears sent their 2027 first-round pick, their 2028 first-round pick, and a 2027 fourth-rounder to the Tennessee Titans for Jeffery Simmons and a 2028 fifth-rounder, and a position that had never commanded that price joined the short list of things that do.21

ESPN's Adam Schefter put the history plainly: Simmons is the first defensive tackle in the common draft era to be traded for multiple first-round picks.2 Quarterbacks cost two firsts. Edge rushers and shutdown corners have cost two firsts. The man in the middle of the defensive line never had — the full deal now sits in the Jeffery Simmons trade tree.3

The Player Tennessee Drafted on a Torn ACL

Tennessee's bet on Simmons was a leap of faith from the start. On February 12, 2019, two months before the draft, Simmons tore his ACL training for it. The Titans took him 19th overall anyway — in a draft held in Nashville — and waited. He debuted that October, sacked Philip Rivers in his first game, and became the fixed point of Tennessee's defense for the next seven years.412

The résumé since: four Pro Bowls (2021, 2022, 2024, 2025), second-team All-Pro honors in 2021 and 2022, and a first-team All-Pro season in 2025.4 That 2025 season was his peak — a career-high 11 sacks, the most by any defensive tackle in the league, with 57 quarterback pressures.2 He has averaged 49 pressures a season since 2020, and through seven games in 2026 he had four sacks and 28 pressures, the most of any defensive tackle — including 10 pressures and three sacks against double teams, both league bests.25

He does not come off the field, either: Simmons has been on it for nearly 90 percent of Tennessee's defensive snaps this season.2 His career line through the trade: 46.5 sacks, 414 tackles, and nine forced fumbles in 106 games.2 This is the player Chicago decided was worth a price no interior lineman had ever fetched.

The Extension That Lasted Four Months

The strangest part of the trade is how recently Tennessee said the opposite. Simmons had already been paid once — a four-year, $94 million extension in April 2023.4 Then, this June, the Titans extended him again: three years and $105.8 million, $100 million of it guaranteed, running through 2030.2 The deal briefly made him the highest-paid defensive tackle in football, at $35.28 million a year.1

GM Mike Borgonzi, announcing it, called Simmons "a pillar for our franchise" and "the premier defensive tackle in the National Football League," adding: "You win with players like Jeffery."2 Four months later, Borgonzi traded him.

The contract's structure explains how that was possible. Tennessee had already paid the bonus money, so Chicago inherits a comparatively friendly deal: $7.94 million for the rest of 2026 and $26.95 million in cash for 2027, per Albert Breer, with his guarantees fully paid out by the end of 2027.72 The bill comes due later — Simmons carries cap charges above $31 million a season starting in 2027.1 Tennessee's own cost for exiting is comparatively light: roughly $21 million in dead money in 2027.2

Why Chicago Paid It

The Bears are 5-2, in second place in the NFC North, and chasing the franchise's first championship since the 1985 season — they have not reached a Super Bowl since the 2006 season.2 Quarterback Caleb Williams, the No. 1 pick in 2024, is still on his rookie contract, and head coach Ben Johnson's offense is built. The window math that has driven every recent blockbuster — spend while the quarterback is cheap — points at the defense.7

That defense was good but oddly shaped: ninth in points allowed, yet dead last in yards allowed per play, with a 37.9 percent pressure rate that ranked 12th.72 There was also a hole in the middle of it. Chicago traded Gervon Dexter to Atlanta in late August, and edge rusher Montez Sweat had just returned from a two-game suspension.2 Simmons fills the hole and then some — and he reunites with Sweat, his Mississippi State teammate; both were first-round picks in 2019.1

Chicago tried to spend less first. The Bears showed interest in DeForest Buckner and, per Ian Rapoport, made a serious effort to land him before San Francisco did.113 When that failed, GM Ryan Poles did not settle for a lesser tackle. He paid the highest price a defensive tackle has ever carried. The deal got done between two men who know each other: Poles and Borgonzi go back to Boston College and to working together in Kansas City's front office.1

Why Tennessee Sold

Tennessee is 1-6, coming off a 3-14 season, in Robert Saleh's first year as head coach, and has not won consecutive games since 2022.212 A 29-year-old defensive tackle, however great, was not going to fix that on any timeline that matched his contract. Two first-round picks might.

The Titans now hold two first-round picks in each of the next two drafts — their own plus Chicago's — along with the extra fourth-rounder and added cap room in future years.7 The capital matters beyond stockpiling: quarterback Cam Ward, the No. 1 pick in 2025, has yet to settle the question of whether he is Tennessee's future, and whether he remains the plan beyond 2026 is genuinely open.12 A team holding four first-rounders across two drafts can answer that question either way.

None of which made it easy. Simmons was a five-time team captain and a three-time Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee in Nashville, and he did not ask for any of this.6 "It was hard, really hard," Borgonzi said. "I don't think Jeff wanted to leave here. I thanked him for everything he's done here, on and off the field."6 Owner Amy Adams Strunk added her own statement: "We are forever grateful for all he has given this team and this city."2

The Price List

To see how far outside the market this deal sits, line it up against what premier defensive tackles have actually cost. In 2020, Indianapolis sent the No. 13 overall pick to San Francisco for DeForest Buckner — one first-rounder, high in the draft, for a 26-year-old star.9 Last offseason, Cincinnati traded the No. 10 overall pick straight up to the Giants for Dexter Lawrence — again, one first-rounder. Dallas's deal for Quinnen Williams last year included its 2027 first-rounder — one first-rounder, plus change.10 That was the position's ceiling for 59 years of the common draft era: one premium pick.

Two firsts were reserved for other jobs. Micah Parsons and Sauce Gardner moved in multi-first deals last year; the Rams acquired Myles Garrett in June for essentially the value of two first-rounders.7 Edge rushers, corners, quarterbacks. Simmons is the first interior lineman to join them.

Chicago, at least, has been here before — as the buyer. Simmons is only the third player the Bears have acquired for two first-round picks: Jay Cutler in 2009 and Khalil Mack in 2018 are the other two.11 One became a cautionary tale and the other a franchise-altering force, which is about the full range of what two-first bets can return.

And the market underlined the point in the same week. Buckner — the one-first defensive tackle of 2020 — was traded again on Tuesday, at 32, for a single 2027 fourth-round pick, with Chicago among the teams that had wanted him.7 The Bears passed on the fourth-round version of a great tackle and bought the two-first version instead.

The verdicts, predictably, split. USA Today's For The Win graded it B for Chicago and A for Tennessee; theScore was harsher on the Bears at C+ while still giving the Titans an A; USA Today's Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz liked the deal better for Chicago than for the team that sold its best player.872 One NFC general manager, speaking to insider Jordan Schultz, skipped the hedging entirely: with Simmons added, Chicago's defense paired with its offense "looks like a Super Bowl roster."11

The Ledger Opens

What is certain is the shape of the bet. Tennessee now holds two first-round picks in 2027 and two more in 2028, and can build a new core around them — or spend them answering the quarterback question. Chicago holds no first-rounder of its own in either draft, and in exchange has the league's most decorated interior rusher, under contract through 2030, for a team that believes its Super Bowl window is open right now.72

The first test comes quickly: Simmons's Bears debut is set for Monday night in Seattle.12 After that, four draft picks — two of them first-rounders — start their own journeys through the league, and every one of them will be traced here. Two first-round picks for a defensive tackle sounded impossible on Wednesday. It is simply the price now, and the tree will keep the receipt.

Trade terms, teams, and dates verified against the site's trade tree for this deal and cross-checked with the sources below.

Sources

  1. Pro Football Rumors: Titans trade DT Jeffery Simmons to Bears — official terms per Schefter; June extension briefly made Simmons the league's highest-paid DT ($35.28M AAV, through 2030, cap charges above $31M from 2027); Bears 5-2; Poles–Borgonzi connection; Buckner interest; Ward's future open
  2. USA Today: Bears land DT Jeffery Simmons in blockbuster trade — Schefter: first DT in the common draft era traded for multiple firsts; Bears 5-2, second in NFC North; Titans 1-6, no back-to-back wins since 2022; June extension $105.8M with $100M guaranteed; ~$21M Titans dead money in 2027; Borgonzi's June "pillar" quote; career stats (46.5 sacks, 414 tackles, 106 games); 2025's 11 sacks most by a DT; ~90% snap share; Middlehurst-Schwartz grades
  3. Football Trade Trees: 2026 Bears–Titans Jeffery Simmons trade tree — full trade terms
  4. Wikipedia: Jeffery Simmons — tore his ACL on Feb 12, 2019, drafted 19th overall anyway; NFL debut with a sack; Pro Bowls 2021/2022/2024/2025, second-team All-Pro 2021/2022, first-team All-Pro 2025; April 2023 four-year, $94M extension
  5. Bears Wire: Caleb Williams reacts to Bears' trade for Jeffery Simmons — Next Gen Stats: 28 pressures in 2026, most among defensive tackles, including 10 pressures and three sacks against double teams (both NFL bests)
  6. Bears Wire: Jeffery Simmons reacts to Titans trading him to Bears — Borgonzi: "It was hard, really hard"; Simmons didn't want to leave; five-time captain; three-time Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee
  7. theScore: NFL trade grades — Simmons, Nelson, Buckner — Bears C+, Titans A; Bears ninth in points allowed but last in yards per play; Breer contract breakdown ($7.94M rest of 2026, $26.95M cash in 2027); Parsons/Gardner/Garrett multi-first context; Buckner to the 49ers for a 2027 fourth
  8. USA Today For The Win: Jeffery Simmons trade grades — Bears B, Titans A
  9. Football Trade Trees: 2020 49ers–Colts DeForest Buckner trade tree — the No. 13 overall pick (which became Tristan Wirfs) for Buckner, March 2020
  10. The Comeback: The Chicago Bears' trade for Jeffery Simmons made NFL history — Bengals traded No. 10 overall for Dexter Lawrence last offseason; Cowboys included their 2027 first-rounder in the Quinnen Williams deal
  11. Swipe Sports: The Bears just bet two drafts on Jeffery Simmons — Simmons is only the third Bear acquired for two first-round picks (Cutler 2009, Mack 2018); an NFC GM to Jordan Schultz: Chicago now "looks like a Super Bowl roster"
  12. WSMV (via WVLT): Titans trading All-Pro Jeffery Simmons to Bears — 2026: four sacks, 38 tackles in seven games; 2025: 11 sacks, 67 tackles; Titans 3-14 in 2025; the 2019 draft was held in Nashville; Simmons's Bears debut set for Monday night in Seattle
  13. Yardbarker: Bears have declared their Super Bowl window open — Rapoport: the Bears made a serious effort to acquire Buckner before the 49ers struck their deal
Explore the trade tree behind this story:

About this article: it was drafted with AI assistance from the Football Trade Trees database and public reporting, then reviewed by a human editor. Spot an error? Email [email protected].