Getty University of Tennessee defensive end James Pearce Jr.
In the not-so-distant past, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers seemed to have elite pass rushers in abundance — players like Shaquil Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul caused havoc for opposing offensive lines and quarterbacks and piled up sacks by the dozens.
In the present, it’s very much the opposite. Despite starting the 2024 regular season with a 3-1 record, the Buccaneers are one of the NFL’s least-intimidating teams when it comes to rushing the passer – tied with 5 other teams for 20th in the NFL with 8.0 sacks headed into Week 5.
CBS Sports’ Josh Edwards is projecting a change to all of that in the near future, and has the Buccaneers selecting University of Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce Jr. at No. 16 overall in his latest 2025 mock draft released on October 3.
“James Pearce Jr. is an explosive pass rusher and great value at this stage of the first round. Tampa Bay has some potential impact rushers with Chris Braswell, Yaya Diaby and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka but none have the potential of Pearce,” Edwards wrote.
Getting Pearce midway through the first round seems like it would be a steal — headed into the 2024 season he was being projected as the No. 1 overall pick in some mock drafts but has seen his stock fall slightly after a slow start to the 2024 season.
James Pearce with the TFL, the strip sack and the pick six. All in the same game.
aka the Julius Peppers hat trick
Pearce Seems Ready-Made for NFL Competition
Pearce, 6-foot-5 and 247 pounds, already seems to have the physical tools to play in the NFL.
As a true freshman in 2022, he had 2.0 sacks, then had a breakout season in 2023 with 28 tackles, 14.5 TFL, 10.0 sacks, 16 QB hurries, one interception for a touchdown, two pass breakups and two forced fumbles on the way to earning All-SEC honors.
Pearce has been virtually unstoppable when it comes to getting to the quarterback, with 61 QB pressures over his first 2 seasons, according to PFF.
PFF projected Pearce as the No. 1 overall pick to the Carolina Panthers in their 2025 mock draft released in April.
From PFF: “After trading away Brian Burns, the Panthers find their next athletic edge rusher in Pearce. The sophomore’s 21.3% pressure rate ranked third among college football edge defenders, as did his 92.4 pass-rush grade. The scariest part is that he won almost exclusively off athleticism against SEC tackles. If Pearce develops more pass-rushing moves, watch out.”
Buccaneers’ Pass-Rush Woes Well Documented
Tampa Bay’s leading pass rusher from 2023, outside linebacker YaYa Diaby, has just 1 sack through the first 4 games.
NFL All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. was second on the team with 6.0 sacks in 2023 and has missed the last 3 games after sustaining a foot injury in a Week 1 win over the Washington Commanders.
The Buccaneers tried to add depth at edge rusher in the offseason by signing veteran Randy Gregory to a 1-year, $5 million contract but Gregory pulled the rare no-call, no-show after signing.
The Buccaneers drafted an edge rusher in 2024 when they selected Alabama’s Braswell in the second round (No. 57 overall), but Braswell has yet to register a sack or a TFL through the first 4 games of his career. Tampa Bay used its first pick in the draft on the defensive front 3 consecutive years with Tryon-Shoyinka (2021), Logan Hall (2022) and Calijah Kancey (2023), but none have panned out so far.
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Buccaneers Projected to Take Elite SEC Edge Rusher in 2025 NFL Draft