Former Tennessee Vols standout is doing some crazy things as a rookie in the NFL, proving he was worth the risk
Former Tennessee Vols edge rusher James Pearce isn’t wasting time in the NFL. Pearce, a first round selection by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2025 NFL Draft, is off a quick start this season. The former Vol only has a half sack through the first two games of the season, but he’s been wreaking havoc […]
Former Tennessee Vols edge rusher James Pearce isn’t wasting time in the NFL.
Pearce, a first round selection by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2025 NFL Draft, is off a quick start this season.
The former Vol only has a half sack through the first two games of the season, but he’s been wreaking havoc in the trenches.
Pearce has a 26.7 percent pressure rate through two games, which is second among all NFL edge rushers with at least 25 snaps (via PFSN365).
Pearce significantly outperformed New York Giants edge rusher Abdul Carter, the No. 3 overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft, in Week 2 of the NFL season.
If Pearce keeps this up — and there’s no reason to think that he won’t — he’ll be a legitimate threat to earn NFL defensive rookie of the year honors.
James Pearce fell in the NFL draft due to character concerns
Pearce was viewed by numerous analysts as a top 10 talent in the draft.
The former Vol, however, fell to the bottom of the first round (Atlanta selected Pearce at No. 26 overall) due to character concerns.
Atlanta, to their credit, did their due diligence on Pearce ahead of the draft, which included a trip to the North Carolina native’s hometown of Charlotte — a visit that alleviated any concerns about Pearce’s character.
The Falcons, for what it’s worth, actually love the “edge” that Pearce brings to their team.
“It was a part of our draft [plan],” said Falcons head coach Raheem Morris in August when asked about the edge that Pearce plays with. “We wanted to add a little edge to our football team. We wanted to add a little edge to our rush. All of the really great football players that I’ve been around, they got edge. They got a little bit of edge when rushing the passer, when you’re talking about some of the great pass rushers — whether it’s Aaron Donald, Von Miller, Warren Sapp, Simeon Rice.
“Any of these guys who rush the passer, they have a little bit of edge. Part of our whole draft, part of our whole philosophy, part of our practice, part of us becoming the team that we want to be and going out and actually doing some of these things is acquiring players with some natural edge. That is
definitely a part of it. Definitely a part of what we want. That’s definitely a part of who we are.”
It seems a lot of NFL teams misjudged Pearce’s character, and the Falcons are now reaping the rewards of those misreads.
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