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NFL scout to ESPN: Tennessee's James Pearce would be 'first defensive player drafted' this year

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•01/19/24•

GrantRamey

James Pearce
Credit: UT Athletics

Forget the 2024 NFL Draft. There’s already talk about the 2024 NFL Draft. And there’s already hype surrounding Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce after his breakout sophomore season with the Vols. 

ESPN NFL Draft analyst Matt Miller this week, while looking at 44 prospects for the 2025 NFL Draft class prospects, highlighted Pearce by describing him as “a legitimate top-five returning player for the 2025 draft class.”

Apparently he’d be the most highly sought after defensive prospect in the 2024 draft, if he were eligible for the draft.

“Pearce is a 6-5, 242-pound blur rushing off the edge,” Miller wrote this week. “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.”

James Pearce led Vols with 10.0 sacks, 14.5 tackles for loss

Pearce finished fifth overall in the Pro Football Focus defensive ratings this season, with a 91.0 grade. He was just behind UCLA’s Laiatu Latu (96.2), Marshall’s Elijah Alston (91.2) and SMU’s Elijah Roberts (91.2). Pearce was third in pass rush with a season grade of 92.4, behind Latu (94.2) and Texas State’s Ben Ball(93.0).

Pearce was played 462 snaps in 13 games, with 246 pass-rushing snaps and 182 snaps in run defense.

He led Tennessee’s defense with 10.0 sacks, four more than the next closest player (Tyler Baron). He led the Vols in tackles for loss with 14.5, three more than Aaron Beasley’s 11.5. And he racked up 16 quarterback hits, 11 ahead of Baron in second place.

Pearce ended the season on a high note, taking an interception back for a touchdown in the win over Iowa in the Citrus Bowl.

He was Tennessee’s highest-rated defender 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.

Josh Heupel: ‘He has a chance to be extremely special’

“James has a great football future in front of him,” Josh Heupel said after Tennessee’s 35-0 win over Iowa in the Citrus Bowl. “He is a great player right now, but (I) really believe he has a chance to be extremely special. 

“Just for him, continuing to grow and his understanding and football IQ as we continue to move him around and put him in positions to win is going to be extremely important as we go through this off-season.”

Heupel described Pearce as versatile in the pass rush, with multiple moves at his disposal. And he noted there is still growth to be had “in some of those fundamentals” and more room to grow in run defense. 

“I say all of that,” Heupel said, “(but) he is a dynamic playmaker for us (and) has a really rare and bright future in front of him.”

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