James Pearce Jr. burst onto the scene last year for the Tennessee Volunteers, leading the tough SEC in sacks, with 10.0. He also had a 52-yard interception return, 15 tackles for loss (TFL), and a pair of forced fumbles. His stats dipped a bit in his third and final college season in Knoxville in 2024, racking up 7.5 sacks, 13 TFLs, and one forced fumble.
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Despite the slight drop-off, Pearce continued to impress NFL scouts as a junior with his length, speed, and athleticism. The edge rusher cuts an imposing figure at 6’5″ and 242 pounds, but, believe it or not, he’s lacking in strength. The biggest drawback to his game is his lack of stoutness on the line, especially when defending the run.
The 21-year-old is definitely not a finished product, but he’s got enormous potential considering his frame, athleticism, and speed. He’s a first-round talent, and he could go anywhere from the low teens to the late first round. Let’s take a gander at James Pearce Jr.’s three most likely NFL landing spots.
3) Atlanta Falcons
The most obvious landing spot for James Pearce Jr. is the team with the fewest sacks in the NFL: the Atlanta Falcons. They’ve managed just 26 sacks all year, and their 60.2 pass rush grade on PFF is the 3rd-lowest in the league. Their 20.8 pressure rate is also tied for the 8th-lowest in the NFL. But more than that, is that the sum of their pass rush might actually be greater than its parts.
They don’t have any players with more than 5.0 sacks this year. Kaden Elliss leads the way with 5.0, but he’s never been known as a pass rusher. Arnold Ebiketie has regressed after a promising sophomore campaign in 2023. Matthew Judon has looked every one of his 32 years of age in his first year in the ATL.
They need a shake-up on the outside, and an athletic freak like Pearce Jr. could be exactly what they need. Atlanta is likely to pick in the No. 11 to No. 20 range in the first round, so the Volunteers star should be available if they choose to draft him.
2) Philadelphia Eagles
This era of the Philadelphia Eagles has often been characterized by a seething pass rush. They nearly broke an NFL record with 70 sacks in 2022, and since 2015 they’ve got 427 sacks, 2nd-most in the league over that 10-year span. However, they were in the bottom half of the league in 2023, with 43 QB takedowns.
Through 15 games in 2024, they’ve got 40 sacks, good for 10th, but their 18.6 pressure rate is 5th-worst in the NFL. Their 104 pressures are also the 6th-fewest across the league, so there are some worrying underlying metrics behind that solid sack total.
Josh Sweat is a quality player, but the jury is still out on second-year man Nolan Smith. Even if both of those guys work out, in this day and age, you need three quality pass rushers to get to the QB consistently. The Eagles will be picking somewhere in the 20s (if not later), so James Pearce Jr. should be in their range. When a team has as few holes as Philly, always add to the pass rush.
1) San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a lot like the Eagles in that much of their identity lies in getting to the QB. They’ve got one of the single greatest edge rushers in the game in Nick Bosa. Leonard Floyd is also a reliable sack artist on the edge, though at 32 years old age is going to catch up to him at some point. One would think.
But behind those two, there’s no quality on the edge. The 49ers have some decent players, but they lack depth along the defensive line. In a 2025 draft class with at least a half dozen first-round talents on the edge, this could be the time for the 49ers to bolster their pass rush again.
San Francisco has been eliminated from playoff contention. However, they’ve won enough games to be in the James Pearce Jr. range in the draft, most likely in the mid-teens. Pearce is still a raw talent, so it would be a perfect fit for him to develop and ply his trade behind a consummate professional like Floyd and a guy like Bosa who has similarly freakish athleticism.
