The league announced on January 22 that former Tennessee football player and current Atlanta Falcons edge rusher James Pearce Jr. was a finalist for the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year Award.
Pierce, the No. 26 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, compiled an 8-9 record for the Falcons, totaling 26 tackles, 16 quarterback hits, 10 tackles for loss, five pass breakups, a forced fumble and a fumble reception. He accumulated 10.5 sacks, the most by a rookie since Micah Parsons in 2021.
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The 6-foot-5, 245-pound star joins Falcons teammate and defensive back Xavier Watts; New York Giants edge rusher Abdul Carter; Cleveland Browns linebacker Carson Schweizer; and Seattle Seahawks defensive back Nick Emmanvory as finalists. The winners will be announced at the NFL Honors Ceremony on February 5.
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Pierce is a 2022 four-star defensive line prospect out of the 247Sports Composite in Charlotte, North Carolina. He played in 13 games as a freshman at Tennessee and started three of the Vols’ 13 games in 2023. As a junior in 2024, Pierce was a semifinalist for the Bednarik, Lombardi and Walter Camp Player of the Year Awards with 38 tackles, 23 solo tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks and 10 quarterback hurries. In 2024, he ranked 10th in the SEC in both tackles and sacks.
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He becomes the 26th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft after earning back-to-back All-SEC honors in 2023 and 2024. He is the 48th first-round pick in Tennessee history.
Wynton Jackson covers high school sports for Knox News. e-mail: wynton.jackson@knoxnews.com
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This article originally appeared in the Knoxville News-Sentinel: Former Tennessee linebacker James Pearce Jr. a finalist for NFL Rookie of the Year