It’s tough to figure out where Pearce stands currently.
The 2025 NFL Draft order isn’t quite set in full, but ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. went ahead and released his 2025 NFL Mock Draft 1.0 this morning. The veteran analyst started things off by projecting the Tennessee Titans to select Miami quarterback Cam Ward with the No. 1 overall pick.
Travis Hunter was next going to Cleveland, while Shedeur Sanders ended up with the Giants.
Tennessee pass rusher James Pearce, however — he took a tumble. The lightning-fast edge prospect was seen as a potential No. 1 overall pick last summer after his breakout sophomore season. Pearce saw a ton of attention from opposing offenses this year though, and his projection has moved somewhere into the middle of the first round.
Kiper had Pearce tumbling all the way outside of the top 25, landing in a really good spot with the Detroit Lions. Here was Kiper’s reasoning for he pick, along with a note on Pearce at the end.
Even with Aidan Hutchinson (leg) back in the picture next season, Detroit can’t let this Super Bowl window slip away because the pass rush doesn’t have enough juice. The Lions’ 37 sacks tied for 23rd in the NFL this season. They were also 25th in pass rush win rate at 35.4%. Injuries wore down the defense, but there weren’t enough playmakers there to begin with, even after the midseason trade for Za’Darius Smith.
Pearce still needs to build out his 6-foot-5 frame, but his speed could make a difference in Detroit. He mixes up pass-rush moves and gets home to the QB, with 17.5 sacks over the past two seasons.
The souring on Pearce’s stock seems a little overdone. Sure, you’d love to see double digit sacks, but the 6-5, 243 pound pass rusher still greatly affected games. He was credited with 43 hurries this season to go along with an 18 percent pressure rate, which was good for second in the country, per ESPN.
Pearce’s toolbox is loaded and he should have scouts drooling at the upcoming NFL Combine. Pass rushing talent with this much athletic upside typically doesn’t last long, so it’s going to be interesting to see if we see a shift following athletic testing.
The NFL Combine is set for February 27th through March 2nd. The 2025 NFL Draft will begin on April 24th and run through April 26th.