This will be a storyline to follow this season.
Next year’s NFL Draft probably isn’t exactly on your radar just yet, but Tennessee is going to have a major draft storyline to follow this season. James Pearce, the stud pass rusher who emerged as one of the nation’s best players last year, could potentially be the top overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
The former five-star prospect is atop several analysts initial rankings, including ESPN’s Matt Miller. In his latest (way too early) mock draft, Miller had Pearce landing with the Tennessee Titans at pick No. 4.
This is a prove-it season for quarterback Will Levis as a second-year starter, but the early returns were good enough that we can forget about quarterbacks at the top of the draft for now. Instead, the Titans could land my preseason No. 1 overall player — and an in-state prospect. At 6-foot-5 and 242 pounds, Pearce has special quickness around the edge, picking up 9.5 sacks last season. He also flashed his all-around game with a 52-yard pick-six last season. Pearce would be an instant boost opposite Harold Landry III.
From the very first game of the season against Virginia, Pearce was a complete menace off of the edge. All of that length paired with elite explosiveness and quickness makes for the ideal edge rusher at the next level. The scary part is that he’s had an entire offseason to get even better going into what will more than likely be his final season of college football.
Pearce is viewed by most as the top non-quarterback prospect in the class, but quarterback demand could obviously push him down a couple of spots. In Miller’s projection it was Carson Beck and Shedeur Sanders going 1-2, with cornerback Will Johnson going third. Quinn Ewers, Riley Leonard and Connor Weigman are other quarterbacks that could get into the conversation as well.
The 2025 NFL Draft is set for April 24th-26th in Green Bay.