Pro Football Focus: Tennessee's James Pearce the early favorite for No. 1 pick in 2025 NFL Draft
Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce is projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft according to Pro Football Focus, which released its Way-Too-Early Top-50 Big Board on Saturday, as the 2024 NFL Draft was finishing in Detroit.
“Pearce was one of the most fearsome pass-rushers in the country as a sophomore,” PFF’s Max Chadwick wrote. “His 92.4 PFF pass-rushing grade and 21.3% pressure rate ranking third among FBS edge defenders.
“The scary part about those numbers is that he was winning almost exclusively off his athleticism last year, meaning he can become nearly unblockable with some added pass-rushing moves.”
Tennessee had three players drafted on Saturday. Running back Jaylen Wright went in the fourth round to the Miami Dolphins and both quarterback Joe Milton III and defensive back Kamal Hadden were picked in the sixth round, with Milton going to the New England Patriots and Hadden to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Pro Football Focus last week, before the 2024 NFL Draft started released a mock draft that included every player in college football. Pearce was the No. 8 overall pick to the Atlanta Falcons in that hypothetical and was the first player from the 2025 draft class to show up in the PFF mock draft.
James Pearce led Tennessee with 10.0 sacks, 14.5 TFLs, 16 QB hits last season
In March PFF looked ahead to the 2025 NFL Draft board and asked if Pearce could be the No. 1 overall pick.
“He has freakish explosiveness at 6-foot-5 and 242 pounds,” Chadwick wrote at the time, “and he converts speed to power at an elite level. With the 2025 NFL Draft looking like it’ll feature a weaker quarterback class, there’s a real chance that Pearce could be the No. 1 overall pick.”
Pearce led Tennessee’s defense with 10.0 sacks as a sophomore, in tackles for loss with 14.5 and he added 16 quarterback hits. He played 462 snaps in 13 games, with 246 pass-rushing snaps and 182 snaps in run defense.
He ended his breakout sophomore season by taking an interception back for a touchdown in the win over Iowa in the Citrus Bowl.
‘His speed and savvy pass-rush moves are worthy of the hype’
Pearce was Tennessee’s highest-rated defender last season with the 91.0 overall grade, coming in ahead of Jaylen McCollough (85.8), Kamal Hadden (85.7) and Keenan Pili (80.8). Fellow sophomore pass rusher Joshua Josephs had a grade of 79.1.
ESPN NFL Draft analyst Matt Miller also wrote in January that Pearce could have potentially been the first defensive player selected in this year’s NFL Draft.
“Pearce is a 6-5, 242-pound blur rushing off the edge,” Miller wrote for ESPN in January. “With 43 pressures and 9.5 sacks in 2023, Pearce established himself as one of the best pass-rushers in the SEC.
“In fact, an AFC West scout who covers the conference told me Pearce would be the first defensive player drafted in the 2024 class if he were draft-eligible. Expectations are high for Pearce, but his speed and savvy pass-rush moves are worthy of the hype.”
