Tennessee Vols edge rusher James Pearce is reportedly falling down some NFL draft boards due to character concerns
A year ago at this time, Tennessee Vols edge rusher James Pearce was being hyped by some media outlets as the potential No. 1 overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft. Now, with just two months to go until the draft, there's a chance that Pearce could fall completely out of the first round. Pearce […]
A year ago at this time, Tennessee Vols edge rusher James Pearce was being hyped by some media outlets as the potential No. 1 overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Now, with just two months to go until the draft, there's a chance that Pearce could fall completely out of the first round.
Pearce saw his production tail off a bit in 2024, recording just 7.5 sacks after totaling 9.5 sacks as a sophomore in 2023.
Production, however, isn't the main reason that Pearce is tumbling down some draft boards.
According to WalterFootball.com's Charlie Campbell, some NFL teams have "character concerns" about Pearce.
And at least one AFC playoff team is considering dropping Pearce off their draft board.
From WalterFootball.com: One player who needs to ace these interviews is Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce Jr. While Pearce has multiple seasons of good tape hunting the quarterback, team sources say that Pearce has significant character concerns and he is in a precarious position on draft boards.
“He’s in danger of getting dropped off our board,” said a director of player personnel for an AFC playoff team to WalterFootall.com. “Granted, we are a strict team in terms of character, but we have a lot of concerns, and I think he probably isn’t a fit for us.”
Pearce was arrested in December 2023 during a traffic stop in Knoxville. Those charges were dropped two weeks after the incident. The Charlotte native played in the Citrus Bowl against Iowa less than a month after the arrest.
From ESPN: Tennessee All-SEC defensive end James Pearce Jr. was arrested Monday during a traffic stop after disobeying orders from police, according to a Knoxville Police Department incident report.
Police said they clocked Pearce traveling 63 mph in a 35 mph zone and that his vehicle had an expired North Carolina temporary tag. Once Pearce was pulled over, police determined that he was driving on a suspended license out of North Carolina and said he failed to provide identification or proof of insurance.
According to the report, Pearce had to be told multiple times to turn off his vehicle and to step out of the vehicle. Police said they then explained to Pearce that his vehicle was being towed and asked if there was anything illegal inside or any personal property he needed. At that point, police said they instructed Pearce to stand at the front of the police car with assisting officers.
The officer said that as he went back to look in the front seat of Pearce's vehicle, Pearce began to walk back toward his vehicle and was detained by the assisting officers without incident. Pearce was then arrested and his vehicle impounded, the report said.
Pearce was transported to Knox County Detention Facility and charged with speeding, driving on a suspended license, failure to present insurance, registration not properly displayed and improper window tinting.
Outside of that issue in late 2023, Pearce didn't have any other documented off-the-field troubles during his time at Tennessee.
One thing to note about Pearce that I always thought wasn't talked about enough was the fact that after the 2023 season, at which point he was viewed as a potential top five draft pick, there was never any reported drama about his NIL deal and the NCAA transfer portal. There was never any noise about Pearce potentially leaving Tennessee to earn more money elsewhere, or to play for a team like Ohio State or Alabama. He just quietly returned to Tennessee for his junior season. It's rare that it plays out like that for a premier player in this new era of mega NIL deals and incessant tampering.
We'll see how it plays out for Pearce over the next couple of months. NFL teams will have to decide during interviews if the perceived character concerns with Pearce are legitimate or not. Those interviews will obviously be incredibly important for Pearce as he looks to convince NFL teams that he should be a first round selection.
