As a Steelers fan, it was only right that I wrote my first article for First Round Mock on a prospect who plays a position that holds a special place in my heart – EDGE. Tennessee’s James Pearce Jr. is currently a top-ranked prospect on the 2025 Consensus Big Board, but from what’s on film, I’m not seeing it.

His athleticism is covering up a major flaw in his game.

What about him warrants a high grade?

Size and Length, Speed and Strength

Pearce is a phenomenal athlete, plain and simple. He produced 10.0 sacks in 2023 and 2.0 sacks in 2022. The rising junior is heading into his third full college season, playing all 26 games for the Volunteers in 2022 and 2023.

His combination of speed and strength makes him explosive off the snap, winning almost exclusively off of his ability to convert speed to power.

Pearce’s athleticism is undoubtedly his greatest strength and is likely why he is rated so highly.

He can play on either side of the line and drop back in coverage if he needs to. This was highlighted by a pick-six against Iowa in the Citrus Bowl this past year, where he reached a top speed of 23 miles per hour.

Pearce’s One Major Flaw

Too Much Power Rushing

Pearce’s reliance on his power rush move greatly concerns me. A large percentage of what I saw on film was either a bull rush (two-hand push) or a long-arm (one-hand), the two least technical moves to perform.

The interesting part about this is that Pearce does succeed at a relatively high clip. In 2023, he placed third in both pressure rate (21.3%) and pass-rush grade (92.3) among FBS (Football Bowl Subdivisions) edge defenders, per Pro Football Focus writer Max Chadwick.

However, it’s important to remember that is against college-level competition.

I do not think that he can maintain this production in the NFL.

While there are some reps where he will use his speed to try and get around his matchup, he very rarely pairs that with a primary or closing counter pass rushing move (a swim, spin, club, etc.) to help himself win the rep. This is glaring and can’t be overlooked, especially given that Pearce is on the lighter side for an edge rusher. It’s difficult to imagine Pearce dominating with power rush moves against NFL-caliber tackles who are much heavier than him.

However, maybe we don’t have to.

In 2023, there was only one top prospect for the 2024 NFL draft that Pearce faced: No. 7 overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, JC Latham (6-foot-6, 342 pounds).

Pearce lost every single rep against Latham.

This sample size is small, but Pearce showed here that he lacks the pass rush versatility to produce against an NFL-level tackle, (of course, Latham hasn’t played a snap in the NFL yet, but that only makes the argument worse for Pearce).

Jaccoma’s Bottom Line

Can he help an NFL team win? – As of right now, no.

Pearce needs to learn/incorporate more pass-rush moves against NFL-level tackles. He has the raw athleticism. All Pearce needs now is to make a major technical jump in year three.

2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report

#27 James Pearce Jr. 6-foot-5, 242 pounds

Philip Jaccoma Jr.’s 2024 Summer Grade: Third-Round

Projected by 89.6% of the NFL Draft Community to be a first-round pick as of June 9, 2024 (nflmockdraftdatabase.com)

Game film reviewed (2024): Virginia, Austin Peay, Florida, UTSA, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Alabama, Kentucky, UConn, Missouri, Georgia, Vanderbilt, and Iowa (Citrus Bowl)

Athletic prospect with superhuman acceleration off the snap. Great speed and a decent bend around the edge. Great at maintaining leverage. Can diagnose plays at a high level. High motor. Never gives up on play. Nice frame and length. Great use of hands when power rushing; ability to create separation from linemen. Poor/non-existent counter-moves. Can go inside and work with defensive linemen. Decent tackling ability but needs to perform better as a run-defender. Can get caught on blocks and has trouble disengaging. He has potential but needs to make the leap in 2024. No injury history.

What to watch for during the 2024 college football season

1. Development of moves/counters as a pass rusher?
2. Performance against 2025 NFL draft’s top tackle prospects?
3. Can he make a constant impact in stopping the run?

Philip Jaccoma Jr. is a rising junior at Rutgers University, pursuing a major in Journalism and Media Studies and a minor in Sports Management. As well as being an aspiring writer and draft analyst for FirstRoundMock.com, he is a sports writer for his school’s student newspaper, The Daily Targum, and a sports broadcaster and producer for WRSU-FM, Rutgers radio. To view more of Philip’s work, follow @PJaccoma on X.