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Night one of the draft proved that James Pearce's 'character concerns' were nonsense and it cost the former Vol millions of dollars

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Zach Ragan | Last updated Apr 25, 2025 4:20 PM ET

Ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft, various media outlets reported that there were "character concerns" surrounding Tennessee Vols edge rusher James Pearce.

As a result, most of the talking points around Pearce centered on his "coachability" instead of his potential to be an elite edge rusher at the next level.

Pearce ended up being selected by the Atlanta Falcons with the No. 26 overall pick in the first round of the draft on Thursday night.

And the Falcons gave up a LOT to get Pearce.

Atlanta traded a future first round pick to the Los Angeles Rams to trade back into the first round to select Pearce in a deal that is already receiving plenty of criticism.

Falcons trade: pick 46, 242 and their 2026 first round pick

Rams trade: pick 26, 101
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) April 25, 2025

Atlanta must REALLY love James Pearce Jr. because that is an INSANE amount of capital to give up
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) April 25, 2025

NFL teams don't give up that much in a trade to move up for a player that has legitimate character concerns. No one is taking that kind of risk on a player who might not work out due to off-the-field concerns.

But the noise around Pearce's character, which was clearly nonsense, caused the former Vol to fall further in the first round than he should've. Pearce was easily a top 10 talent (a CBS Sports analyst, in fact, had Pearce as his No. 1 overall player in the draft earlier this week).

If Pearce had been the No. 10 overall pick, he'd likely be looking at a rookie contract worth around $23.7 million. But because he fell to No. 26, he will likely receive a deal worth around $15.1 million.

The power of rumor probably cost Pearce at least $8 million, if not more.

The good news for Pearce is that he landed with a team that badly wanted him, and is somewhat close to his hometown of Charlotte (a few hours north).

But that's a lot of money to miss out on because some anonymous sources decided to slander Pearce's character for two months.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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