This is the second prospect being analyzed in the series on this page, and the first defensive prospect to be scouted on here as well. In this series I am going to be writing an article of my scouting and analysis of prospects for the 2025 draft at least once per day leading up to the draft. Stay tuned for the many other deep dive articles that will be coming to Bleacher Brothers in the future.
The prospect being analyzed here is none other than star edge rusher for the Tennessee Volunteers, James Pearce Jr. The young edge rusher quickly established himself as one of the best pass rushers in all of college football last year having 9.5 sacks. 2 forced fumbles, and an interception in his sophomore year. James Pearce Jr. I guarantee is going to be at the top of next year‘s draft class, and I currently have as my top player overall. James is a sure thing that I guarantee is going to make a great draft prospect as a blue chip player. I have no doubt in my mind he is going to continue to dominate going into 2024.
Proving he is already a blue chip prospect he has shown that competition does not matter as he had a sack against the 17th ranked Iowa Hawkeyes, had a sack against the 14th ranked Mizzou Tigers, as well as a sack against the 11th ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. As for the athletic profile on the prospect, you can’t possibly ask for anything better. Pearce Jr. is 6’5 and nearly 250 while running a sub 4.5 40 yard dash. Pearce has long, strong arms with a great build so that he can match up excellently against any offensive tackle, with a generational blend of strength and athleticism. James I truly believe will go down as a generational talent and I just about guarantee he will be a cornerstone of whatever team takes him come the draft in 2025.
As for the tape, Pearce jumps off the line like no other, giving himself an immediate step on the offense of line which he is then able to quickly dominate with his strength or easily push off balance with his elusiveness and speed. James’ bend for his size is like none other, allowing him to get around tight corners and maintain his speed extremely fluidly while rushing the passer. As I said Pearce has great length, but sometimes the longer edge rushers don’t quite know how to use it to their advantage yet, that is certainly not the case for James who knows how to utilize his length extremely effectively just about every snap when fighting to get into the backfield. James also has the deepest bag of pass rush moves in the entire class, some of his highlight moves being an exceptional cross chop and a strong push pull using his length and power to his advantage. Maybe his most dominant move however would be his swipe, enabling him to quickly get the offensive tackles hands out of the way making for a quick and easy block shed right off the line to disrupt any play. James certainly puts his speed to good use, never giving up on a play and constantly chasing down the play even as the ball carrier breaks past him. Once Pearce gets to the ball carrier or quarterback, there is no question that they are going down as he has the instincts and speed to track them down and certainly has strong enough tackling to drop them.
The one slight negative on James is that he can occasionally get swallowed up by larger and wider tackles, but overall Pearce does every single thing at an exceptional level and his work ethic paired with his gifted athleticism is sure to make him an extremely talented NFL player. Pearce is best fit to be a 3-4 edge rusher due to his lack of weight, but he truly is scheme independent and without a doubt has the ability to put on some more pounds of muscle. His game IQ is through the roof as he has deadly instincts that I’d compare to the likes of T.J. Watt and Josh Hines-Allen which is sure to make for massive plays that are rare for an edge rusher such as lurking down an interception and jumping for a swat. Finally, James has an impossible to beat mentality which makes him the hardest worker on the team, and if you start outworking him he’s going to double his own efforts. If you are the head coach of a pro team, James is the perfect player you would want to bring in to turn the organization around as he will already come into the league as a dominant player, his ceiling is endless, and he certainly is going to work with you to achieve those heights.
I’m going to go out on a limb this early and claim that James Pearce Jr. WILL be the 1st overall pick in the 2025 draft, in a class that is weaker at the quarterback position. James truly is a one of a kind prospect that checks every single box you could ask for from an athletic profile, to a production standpoint, to a personal and leadership level. I’d even go as far to say that if James Pearce Jr. were to put on a little weight, that I’d have him as the best edge rusher prospect to come out of college since Nick Bosa in 2019. James is without a doubt a difference maker, and will be the heart and soul of a defense even going into the NFL. If your team is projected to have a top pick in the draft, you certainly might want to tune in to some Tennessee games this year as 27 might be the future of your franchise. Statistically I’m projecting James Pearce Jr., in his second year as a starter to have 14.5 sacks as well as 19 tackles for loss, earning himself the right to be selected at 1 in the NFL draft.