The vaunted Volunteer pass rusher heads to Indianapolis this week.
The Indianapolis Colts will host Tennessee EDGE James Pearce Jr. on a Top 30 pre-draft visit this week, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
Pearce has already met with the Arizona Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys, and Atlanta Falcons, and has meetings with the Indianapolis Colts and Cincinnati Bengals happening later this week.
The Colts have a busy week of pre-draft meetings lined up, with all visitors in question to play on the defensive side of the ball. Along with Pearce Jr., the Colts have plans to host ECU cornerback Shavon Revel Jr. and Texas A&M defensive linemen Shemar Stewart and Shemar Turner this week as well.
Pearce Jr. posted a Relative Athletic Score (RAS) of 9.40 out of 10.0, proving to be a top-tier athlete which the likes of Colts general manager Chris Ballard and Co. would inevitably be intrigued by.
James Pearce Jr. is a DE prospect in the 2025 draft class. He scored a 9.40 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 122 out of 2012 DE from 1987 to 2025.https://t.co/MrXkmvCIjN pic.twitter.com/CPT28sUUoi
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 31, 2025
Totaling less than 1,000 career defensive snaps during his three seasons at Tennessee, Pearce Jr. is a pass rusher first and foremost. He did improve as a run defender this past season according to PFF’s grading system (67.7 in 2023 to 84.1 in 2024), however, his intrigue as a prospect sprouts from his ability to disrupt quarterbacks.
Pearce Jr. regularly finds himself in the backfield during opposing quarterback’s dropbacks, totaling 19.5 career sacks and 17.5 over the past two seasons as a full-time starter. Pearce was so productive on a snap-by-snap basis that he leaves college with the 2nd-best pass-rush win rate of any 1st round edge rusher drafted since 2017, trailing only Nick Bosa.
Defensive end may not seem like a big need for the Colts on the surface, though when you consider the immediate loss of Dayo Odeyingbo, the near future looks bleak the more you dive into it.
The Colts will return its main core of defensive ends for the upcoming 2025-26 season which includes Samson Ebukam, Kwity Paye, and Tyquan Lewis, but after that, the only rostered defensive ends who are under contract are limited to just Laiatu Latu. The Colts don’t necessarily need to add to this room, however, being proactive about said situation could prove fruitful for the not-too-distant future.
