1st Mock Draft- James Pearce Jr

[SNAFU]

#15 to the Falcons
”The only concern about Pearce is whether his size (243 pounds) is enough for teams to see him as a true three-down option. If they do, don’t be surprised to see Pearce land closer to the top 10. His ability to win with speed off the edge is nearly unmatched in this class.”

 

[iuvol]

#15 to the Falcons
”The only concern about Pearce is whether his size (243 pounds) is enough for teams to see him as a true three-down option. If they do, don’t be surprised to see Pearce land closer to the top 10. His ability to win with speed off the edge is nearly unmatched in this class.”

I have seen him go as late middle second and Sampson in the 6th

 

[Deathandtaxes]

He needs to add weight and develop some pass rush moves. He has had a trend of diping in 1st and 3rd year. Expect him to have a good rookie campaign.

 

[CAVPUT]

Said it before. He seems to be a bit of a one trick pony. Time the snap and speed rush. Gonna need more than that at the pro level.

 

[livefaith]

Someone better take not only on what he's done, but potential. He eventually gets to 265 and there is no possible way 1 blocker handles this man.

 

[vol94fan]

Would he be good linebacker size for the NFL?

 

[tennesseeduke]

#15 to the Falcons
”The only concern about Pearce is whether his size (243 pounds) is enough for teams to see him as a true three-down option. If they do, don’t be surprised to see Pearce land closer to the top 10. His ability to win with speed off the edge is nearly unmatched in this class.”

11 to 49ers. They love Vol players

 

[Volfan1000]

#15 to the Falcons
”The only concern about Pearce is whether his size (243 pounds) is enough for teams to see him as a true three-down option. If they do, don’t be surprised to see Pearce land closer to the top 10. His ability to win with speed off the edge is nearly unmatched in this class.”

This would be a solid pick for Atlanta.

 

[basspond]

Watching Tennessee history, he might go second round.

 

[They]

Better or worse than a Darrel “WGWTFA” Taylor?

 

[madbamahater]

Imagine how good he'd be if he wasn't held on nearly every play? All NFL teams need to do is watch the video of him being held. That tells them everything they need to know. A lot of times coaches will tell them to hold and take the gamble on not getting the flag vs getting QB sacked or fumbled and if you play for Alabama you will basically never have holding called on you, so why not do it?

 

[Vol-e-ball]

Why

I have seen him go as late middle second and Sampson in the 6th

Why has Sampson fallen so far?

 

[titansvolsfaninga]

He needs to add weight and develop some pass rush moves. He has had a trend of diping in 1st and 3rd year. Expect him to have a good rookie campaign.

Have you watched him play? He has a dip move, spin move, bump, as well as speed. I'm concerned that yall don't know what yall are watching.

 

[miket4god]

Why

Why has Sampson fallen so far?

He hasn't. He has never been projected very high in the draft.

 

[Batman1948]

#15 to the Falcons
”The only concern about Pearce is whether his size (243 pounds) is enough for teams to see him as a true three-down option. If they do, don’t be surprised to see Pearce land closer to the top 10. His ability to win with speed off the edge is nearly unmatched in this class.”

Everyone, in the NFL, has speed. It's a requirement, hence all the emphasis put on their 40 times at the combines.

 

[farmdogvol]

As a Falcons fan I'm torn. On one hand love to see him in a Falcons jersey, but with their history of failed picks at the rush end position, could be the kiss of death for his career. On the other hand as bad as they need an edge rusher, they will probably waste the pick on reaching for a TE or RB.

 

[Vol-e-ball]

He hasn't. He has never been projected very high in the draft.

Ok, then. Why is he not projected higher?

 

[madbamahater]

Ok, then. Why is he not projected higher?

Just has more to do with the position he plays in today's NFL game. The days are over where there is a run on top running backs early in the 1st round. I don't get it, but this is the trend and I don't agree with this either. I think you always take the best football player available when picking, unless of course, it is a need that you absolutely don't need.

Sampson is a huge prospect and will be able to do a lot in the league. I think he's a franchise type of back. I guess the overall view on running backs is they don't want to give these huge guaranteed contracts to a position that takes so much physical wear and tear?

 

[JohnWardForever]

A lot depends on the Aptitude test. NFL'ers have to be able to digest a lot. All world Talent Keith McCants couldn't learn his defensive assignments.

 

[livefaith]

Ok, then. Why is he not projected higher?

He's good, not great at a position that has fallen in early round urgency.

 

[miket4god]

Ok, then. Why is he not projected higher?

Not sure honestly. But he's not even one of Mel Kiper's top 10 RB's, though I have seen him climbing some NFL mock drafts lately.

 

[Illinoisvolfan2]

Imagine how good he'd be if he wasn't held on nearly every play? All NFL teams need to do is watch the video of him being held. That tells them everything they need to know. A lot of times coaches will tell them to hold and take the gamble on not getting the flag vs getting QB sacked or fumbled and if you play for Alabama you will basically never have holding called on you, so why not do it?

My brother in law and I were at the Bama game in Tuscaloosa in 2023. Our guys were being held every play. We could see it from the stands. Never got called. Not once.

 

[OrangeBeachVol]

Would he be good linebacker size for the NFL?

I think that's a good possibility. His speed could still be used on blitzes and he could cover TE's and RB's in pass coverage. Bankes dropped him into pass coverage a few times.

 

[EastTNVol6240]

Just has more to do with the position he plays in today's NFL game. The days are over where there is a run on top running backs early in the 1st round. I don't get it, but this is the trend and I don't agree with this either. I think you always take the best football player available when picking, unless of course, it is a need that you absolutely don't need.

Sampson is a huge prospect and will be able to do a lot in the league. I think he's a franchise type of back. I guess the overall view on running backs is they don't want to give these huge guaranteed contracts to a position that takes so much physical wear and tear?

I think we have over valued Sampson just because he’s ours if we’re being honest. He isn’t a “once in a lifetime, generational type back”. Sure he was great for us but he didn’t do anything outlandish. Each NFL team probably already has 1-2 backs on the squad as talented or nearly as talented. Add in that the position isn’t as valued as it once was and he falls to late rounds. He will likely fall to a team and be used along with another 1-2 backs per game. Like most teams are now doing.

 

[bpalmer28]

Better or worse than a Darrel “WGWTFA” Taylor?

Better. I didn't seem like Pearce Jr. made a lot of plays but if you watch his highlights it's easy to see that he was the MVP of the Alabama game and did a lot to keep us in the game against Arkansas. I'm afraid we are going to miss him a lot more than we'd all like to imagine.