James Pearce Jr. Billed as No. 1 Returning EDGE Rusher

Pro Football Focus ranked Tennessee Volunteers edge rusher James Pearce Jr. as the No. 1 returning player at his position for the 2024 college football season.

Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce Jr. is an elite talent with NFL measurables. He's being treated as such in preseason projections, as he's a consensus preseason All-American on multiple sites. Pro Football Focus ranked the top returning edge rushers in college football, and Pearce found himself sitting in the top spot.

"Pearce became one of the most fearsome pass rushers in college football this past season. The sophomore’s 21.3% pressure rate ranked third among all edge defenders in the country, as did his 92.4 pass-rush grade. Pearce ended the season as the fourth-most-valuable Power Five edge defender, according to PFF’s wins above average metric. He has freakish explosiveness at 6-foot-5 and 242 pounds, and he converts speed to power at an elite level. With the 2025 NFL Draft looking like it’ll feature a weaker quarterback class, there’s a real chance that Pearce could be the No. 1 overall pick." - PFF's Max Chadwick on James Pearce Jr.