ClutchPoints
When the 2024 NCAA season came to an end, it looked like junior Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce Jr. was going to be one of the first players off the board.
Standing 6-foot-5, 242 pounds with a quick first step and incredible fluidity off the edge, Pearce Jr. looks like an ideal fit as both a 4-3 defensive end or a 3-4 outside linebacker and has the production to back it up, recording 19.5 sacks, 71 combined tackles, and an interception over his three seasons at Tennessee. Factor in that Pearce doesn’t turn 22 until October, and theoretically, he’s a premier prospect who could be a long-term building block of any team in the NFL.
And yet, as the offseason has progressed on, Pearce has dropped down NFL boards, with ESPN’s Matt Miller dropping him out of the first round entirely because of his slight frame and down production in 2024.
“Pearce’s 2024 season might disappoint from a box-score perspective, as he had only 7.5 sacks in 13 games after registering 10 sacks in 2023. But he has the traits to get after the QB. He is a lean, fluid pass rusher with developed moves such as stunts and loops,” Miller wrote for ESPN. “He’s also agile and quick enough to spy quarterbacks and defend the outside zone or option. Following his breakout 2023 season, one scout told me Pearce would’ve been the top defensive player taken in the 2024 class. His lean frame won’t be a fit for every team, but his speed-rush skills are special.”
On paper, could limitations to Pearce’s frame impact his draft stock? Yes, edge prospects like Nolan Smith have dropped because of their slight build, and even if the Philadelphia Eagles rusher has largely overcome that perception, others, like Jacob Martin, have struggled. Factor in his off-the-field issues, and there’s a very real world where Pearce may not be a first-round pick at all.
Speaking of Pearce’s off-the-field concerns, a recent post by Walter Sports echoed around the sports world by other talent evaluators, reporter Charlie Campbell noted that a director of player personnel of an AFC playoff team told him that Pearce is “in danger” of dropping off of boards due to his character concerns.
“He’s in danger of getting dropped off our board,” Campbell wrote. “Granted, we are a strict team in terms of character, but we have a lot of concerns, and I think he probably isn’t a fit for us.”
In late 2024, Pearce was arrested for going 63 in a 35 while driving a car with expired tags. Pearce had a suspended license at the time and did not provide insurance to the officer. While this issue alone isn’t enough to drop most performers off of boards across the NFL, it is an important piece of information that, when coupled with other intel and on-field measurables, could lead to a player like Pearce falling from a top-10 pick to somewhere...
