Tennessee football’s James Pearce Jr officially declared for the NFL Draft on Wednesday night, forgoing his final season of college eligibility in the process.
Pearce going pro following the 2024 season was the expected result after he broke onto the college football scene with a dominant sophomore season in 2023.
In his final two seasons at Tennessee, the Charlotte native totaled 65 tackles, 17 sacks, three forced fumbles and a pick six in the Vols’ Citrus Bowl win over Iowa.
Entering his junior season, Pearce was a popular choice to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. That is no longer the case but he is still viewed as a first round pick. If that proves to be the case, Pearce would be Tennessee’s second first round pick of the Josh Heupel era.
Here’s where Pearce is projected to go in the latest NFL mock drafts.
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ESPN (Jordan Reid)
Round: No. 1
Pick: No. 17
Team: Cincinnati Bengals
The Athletic (Dane Brugler)
Round: No. 1
Pick: No. 19
Team: Tampa Bay Bucs
CBS Sports (Chris Trapasso)
Round: No. 1
Pick: No. 14
Team: Indianapolis Colts
Yahoo! Sports (Anthony Rizutto)
Round: No. 1
Pick: No. 16
Team: Arizona Cardinals
