ESPN predicts how many sacks former Tennessee Vols edge James Pearce will have as a rookie with the Atlanta Falcons

Former Tennessee Vols edge rusher James Pearce was selected in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft (No. 26 overall) by the Atlanta Falcons. 

Atlanta made it their mission to improve their pass rush in this year's draft, which led to the team selecting Pearce, as well as former Georgia Bulldogs edge Jalon Walker (No. 15 overall) in the first round. 

Pearce will be used exclusively as an edge rusher by the Falcons in 2025, which means he'll likely only be on the field in obvious passing situations.  

"As far as James is concerned, he's going to be edge -- edge only -- and we'll go from there," said Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich recently. 

Because Pearce won't be an every down player, it could limit his production as a rookie this fall. 

ESPN, however, still thinks the former Vol will have a solid debut season. They predicted this week that Pearce will finish his rookie season with 5.0 sacks, which would be a solid season for a first-year pass rusher. 

By comparison, former Vols edge rusher Byron Young, who was teammates with Pearce at Tennessee in 2022, had 8.0 sacks as a rookie for the Los Angeles Rams in 2023. 

Pearce's productivity will ultimately depend on how he's used by the Falcons. If Pearce quickly proves to be a disruptive force, he'll make it tough for Atlanta to pull him off the field.

The Falcons, by the way, thought Pearce, on paper, "might have been the best edge rusher in the draft".