The Tennessee Titans had a difficult decision on the clock in the latest mock draft that Austin Stanley and I put together. With Texas edge rusher Colin Simmons and Notre Dame cornerback Leonard Moore both available, the pick came down to a classic NFL Draft debate.

Do you take the highest-graded player on your board, or do you take the premium position?

I went with Simmons. That might be a surprise, considering Moore is the higher-graded prospect for me right now. To be clear, these were simulator selections and personal scouting opinions. Nothing here reflects what Tennessee’s front office is planning.

Why Colin Simmons got the nod over Leonard Moore

Cornerback is a very important position in the NFL. Nobody is arguing otherwise, and Moore would have been a strong addition for the Titans’ secondary.

Even so, pass rusher off the edge is a paramount position. It is still a priority spot, and it is still a premium position across the league. When the gap between two prospects is close, that positional value matters. That is why I deferred to Simmons in this exercise.

If you ask me, this is less a knock on Moore and more a reflection of how NFL teams build rosters. Teams pay their pass rushers, and they spend early draft capital to find them. A team that can land a productive edge rusher without reaching is usually going to take that deal.

The Colin Simmons vs. Dylan Stewart debate

Simmons isn’t the only edge rusher in this conversation. I do believe we are headed toward a very deep Colin Simmons vs. Dylan Stewart (South Carolina) debate at some point, as long as Stewart can stack some games.

Trevor Sikkema laid out where things stand between the two right now when he joined us on our Best Pod Available show:

It’s just, you feel better about Simmons right now in terms of how he just kind of checks more boxes than Dylan Stewart right now. Dylan Stewart clearly has the higher ceiling, but it’s just like, you’re comfortable with what Colin Simmons is in terms of production, in terms of continuing to develop and like all those types of things.

That comfort level is a big part of why Simmons made sense for Tennessee in this spot. You know what you are getting in terms of production, and there is still room for him to keep developing. That combination is hard to pass up at a premium position, even with a higher-graded cornerback sitting right there.

A Simmons with No. 98 in Tennessee

The simulator handed out an instant grade of A-minus for the pick, which felt fair given the value at the position.

There was also a fun wrinkle to the selection. I pointed out that Colin Simmons should wear No. 98, giving Tennessee another Simmons in that number alongside the identity defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons has built there (it was a joke!). That way the Titans wouldn’t have to rebrand anything, and they wouldn’t have to give refunds on all the jerseys that have been sold.

It was a lighthearted moment, but it shows how naturally the name would fit in Nashville.

What comes next for the Simmons vs. Moore conversation

There is still plenty of time for this debate to shift. Moore remains a prospect I value highly, and nothing about this pick changes that. If he continues to play at a high level, the argument for taking him over an edge rusher will only get louder.

For now, the premium position wins out. Simmons checks the boxes, brings proven production, and fits a team that would love to add juice to its pass rush. We will see how both players continue to develop, and whether the Stewart side of this conversation heats up once he stacks some games.