Where Tennessee's James Pearce landed in ESPN's first 2025 NFL Mock Draft
James Pearce is projected to be a top-five pick in the 2025 NFL Draft according to the first mock draft released by ESPN. Tennessee’s star pass-rusher has been projected as high as the No. 1 overall pick by Pro Football Focus and has 7/1 odds to be the top pick, according to BetOnline.
“Pearce has a rare combination of bend and closing speed,” ESPN NFL Draft analyst Jordan Reid wrote. “He’s a scheme-versatile defender who had a 20.2% pressure rate (third in the FBS), 10 sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss last season, and he was especially great on third down (25.5% pressure). The Panthers need an explosive edge rusher after trading Brian Burns to the Giants this offseason.”
ESPN projected Georgia quarterback Carson Beck to be the No. 1 overall pick, ahead of Georgia edge rusher Mykel Williams and LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell.
Pearce on Monday was given 7/1 odds to be the No. 1 pick by BetOnline, behind only Colorado quarterback Shadeur Sanders (5/2), Beck (4/1) and Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers (5/1).
James Pearce last season: 10.0 sacks, 14.5 TFL, 16 QB Hits
Pearce was a breakout star as a sophomore last season, leading Tennessee’s defense with 10.0 sacks, 14.5 tackles for loss and had 16 quarterback hits. He played 462 snaps in 13 games, with 246 pass-rushing snaps and 182 snaps in run defense.
Pro Football Focus this week ranked Pearce No. 1 on its “Way-Too-Early Top-50 Big Board” for the 2025 NFL Draft.
“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.”
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.
“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,” Miller wrote for ESPN in January. Expectations are high for Pearce, but his speed and savvy pass-rush moves are worthy of the hype.”
‘He has freakish explosiveness at 6-foot-5 and 242 pounds’
PFF 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.
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).
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.”
