James Cecil Pearce Jr. (born October 12, 2003) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Colleg ...

and selected by the Falcons in the first round of the

2025 NFL draft The 2025 NFL draft was the 90th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft was held at Lambeau Field and its adjacent Titletown District in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on April 24–26, 2025 ...

Early life

Pearce Jr. attended

Julius L. Chambers High School Julius L. Chambers High School, is a high school located in Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System, and opened in 1997. The spor ...

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

. As a senior, he had 14.5 sacks and two interceptions. A four-star prospect, he committed to the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

to play college football.

College career

As a true freshman at Tennessee in 2022, Pearce Jr. played in all 13 games and had five tackles and two sacks. He returned to Tennessee for his sophomore year in 2023. During the 2023 season, he ranked third in the SEC for sacks and fifth in the SEC regarding tackles for loss. In the Citrus Bowl against Iowa, he recorded a 52-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Professional career

Pearce was drafted in the first round with the 26th overall pick in the

by the

. The Falcons traded up with the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

to pick Pearce, giving up the 2026 first round pick as well as a 2025 third and 2025 seventh.

References

External links

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Atlanta Falcons bio

Tennessee Volunteers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearce Jr., James 2003 births Living people Players of American football from Charlotte, North Carolina American football defensive ends American football outside linebackers Tennessee Volunteers football players Atlanta Falcons players