Our 2025 NFL Draft prospect profile series rolls on with one of my personal favorites: Tennessee pass rusher James Pearce.
As we’ll soon go over, Pierce is a certified stud when it comes to getting after the quarterback – and we’re well aware that’s a HUGE need for the Arizona Cardinals this offseason.
I don’t expect any position to be addressed more heavily than pass rushers, specifically off the edge, in the upcoming months. Arizona is already being linked to some of the bigger names in free agency as well as trade candidates like Myles Garrett.
Any and all moves would be welcome, but adding a guy in the draft should still have some priority.
The upcoming draft class is stacked at the position. If the Cardinals stick with the 16th overall pick, there’s a high chance they can land an impact player. Even a trade down still leaves the possibility to get a good player.
However, a guy like Pearce, who doesn’t seem to have any consensus mark on where he should be drafted, should be someone the Cardinals would get very excited about adding.
Let’s break down the star Tennessee pass rusher, the logic/fit for Arizona, and his day one roll with this defense:
Profile:
- Former 4-Star recruit (2022)
- Two-time First-Team All-SEC (2023,2024)
- 39 career games (12 starts)
The fit:
The fit goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyways: Pearce is an immediate producer for your pass rush.
Pearce can start in a rotational spot and eventually work his way into a full-time role. After all, that’s the role he had with the Volunteers and he still made it work. He could see the field 100% of the snaps or less than 50% and you’d still feel confident you were getting your money’s worth.
Honestly, the only way he wouldn’t be an immediate starter would depend on the offseason moves Arizona makes. But with that being said, he still finds some kind of role and gives you an immediate impact.
The logic:
I don’t think I need to explain the logic here too much when it comes to his position, his production, and his immediate fit on this defense.
Compared to other players, we’ve talked about in this series, he doesn’t have as many connections to Monti Ossenfort’s “checklist” but that shouldn’t stop him from adding someone of Pearce’s caliber.
Again, in a worst case scenario, Pearce would be a rotational guy who sees the field often and could be placed in a designated pass rushing role for the defense. That still fills in need and that’s where the logic starts and ends.
Day one role:
I’ll make this as simple as possible: Pearce as a day one rotational player at worst. We’ve talked nonstop about the Cardinals overachieving with their past rush, and also the minimal production they get on a down to down basis from their edge rushers.
Adding a player of Pearce’s caliber instantly changes everything.
Quite honestly, it doesn’t even matter who the Cardinals bring in this offseason. They could bring in Josh Sweat or Khalil Mack through free agency. They could make a splash trade for Myles Garrett, or what would be an under the radar trade for Trey Hendrickson. And regardless of any of those, even if they pulled off more than one of those… Pearce would still find his way onto the field quickly.
Simply put, a player of Pearce‘s caliber finds his way onto the field — the only reason he wouldn’t get out there, more than likely, would be a coaches decision. Quite frankly, any decision to keep Pearce off the field would be irresponsible at best.
Don’t overthink it: put him out there and let him get after the quarterback