Any young player who’s had the opportunity to learn from Simmons will tell you the same thing: If you’re on his team, he will do everything in his power to help you reach your highest potential.
P.J. Locke, a third-year safety, worked his way onto the Broncos’ roster after starting his NFL career as an undrafted free agent. He credits Simmons as a major reason he was able to improve his game, praising the veteran’s leadership both on and off the field.
“He doesn’t withhold any information,” Locke said. “Any questions I ask him, if he [doesn’t] know the answer, he’s going to find the answer. We’ve developed a relationship off the field to where I can go to him for anything. My family’s been to his house and vice versa.”
With how influential the veteran leaders were to Simmons during his first year in the league, he puts an emphasis on being a guide and a resource for the rookies. Safety Delarrin Turner-Yell, a fifth-round pick by the Broncos in the 2022 NFL Draft, raved about Simmons’ impact as he adjusts to playing at the NFL level.
“He leads by example, and also he does it vocally,” Turner-Yell said earlier in the 2022 season. “He’s a person that’s open to anyone. If you ever have anything you’re going through, on the field [or] off the field, he’s always a phone call away. … If we ever need anything and we want to come over to his house and watch film, we didn’t need an invite. We could just call his phone and let him know, ‘Hey, Justin, we’re coming over to watch film.’ He’s been very welcoming. The second I got drafted, that was the first person besides [General Manager] George Paton and [Head] Coach [Nathaniel] Hackett, [Defensive Coordinator Ejiro Evero] and things like that … to text me, congratulate me about getting drafted to the Broncos. He’s a great guy and a great leader.”
Simmons’ teammates consistently praise his leadership, but to the team captain, supporting the younger players is just part of who he is.
“Man, I’m in Year 7, and [I’m] a captain,…
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