Saturday Prospect Spotlight: SEC EDGE Rusher
When it comes to the NFL Draft, we can never ignore the premium talent at premium positions.
We made it to another weekend. I’m proud of us. It’s been a busy week for Browns Film Breakdown, but as you know, this website loves some college football and in turn we love to study some first-round prospects. We have hit on a wide receiver, defensive tackle, and a quarterback so far in the Saturday Prospect Spotlight, but now we hit the other premium position: EDGE rusher. We all know the Browns focus on these positions, and let’s just say that position room isn’t getting any younger.
Reminder: As the Browns make a return to the first round of this year's NFL Draft, each Saturday we will highlight a player worth watching with the Browns’ prospect preferences in mind!
Obviously we will focus on the highest-ranked prospects this year because the Browns could have a wide range of outcomes for their pick, but we hope they select the 32nd overall prospect following a Super Bowl win.
It’s not a deep EDGE class this season but there will be a few in that fringe Top-10 range the Browns could have fall to their ultimate spot to select come late April. Today we go down to the SEC and Jimmy Haslam’s backyard for the conference’s best pass rusher. The spotlight turns to James Pearce Jr. out of Tennessee.
History
Originally from Charlotte, North Carolina, Pearce was an elite recruit out of Chambers High School where he led the program to back-to-back State Championships. He held 18 offers, 13 of which were from Power-5 schools. He was rated as a five-star recruit by On3.com—their 11th best player in the 2022 class—and a four-star by Rivals and 247Sports.
Stats
2022: 61 snaps, 6 pressures, 2 sacks, 4 QB hurries
2023: 462 snaps, 52 pressures, 13 sacks, 28 QB hurries, 23 stop tackles
Scouting Report
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