2025 NFL Draft: Falcons giving up 2026 1st-round pick for James Pearce Jr. draws criticism
The Atlanta Falcons traded back into the first round for the Los Angeles Rams' pick at No. 26 and selected Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce Jr.
Yet the Falcons trading this year's second-round pick (No. 46), a seventh-rounder (No. 242) and a 2026 first-round selection to draft a player that was rated No. 37 on Yahoo Sports' consensus big board was immediately questioned. Atlanta had already drafted another edge rusher, Georgia linebacker Jalon Walker (No. 13 on the big board), with the No. 15 pick.
"To give them a first-round pick, that's ridiculous. That's stupid," Charles McDonald said on Yahoo Sports' NFL Draft Live show. "This is what the Falcons do."
Pearce compiled 7.5 sacks last season for the Volunteers with 13 tackles for loss. During his three years in Knoxville, he collected 19.5 sacks, 30 tackles for loss and 71 total tackles.
"There shouldn't be an eagerness to get rid of a future pick, a first-rounder that no matter what is going to be more valuable," added Yahoo Sports' Nate Tice. "It's just not the class to be jumping back in to get an edge rusher with questions."
Those questions were raised in Tice's pre-draft scouting report on Pearce.
"Pearce's frame and speed-only type style gives me some apprehension about how he will affect the game if he doesn't win right away, as he's not the most explosive or strongest player. This type of pass rusher profile carries risk."
The Falcons finished second-to-last in the NFL with 31 sacks. Arnold Ebiketie led the team with six sacks, followed by Matt Judon's 5.5 and five from Kaden Elliss. Atlanta's defense also allowed 4,004 yards and 34 touchdowns passing.
Pass rush was certainly a need for the team. But was Pearce worth giving up next year's first-round pick? Many draft experts and observers on social media didn't think so.
Falcons give up their #1 pick in '26... for James Pearce I've received nearly a dozen texts from guys around the league who are.... shocked
— Zach Klein (@ZachKleinWSB) April 25, 2025
I can't believe the Falcons traded all that for James PearceWhat @DOrlandoAJC
— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) April 25, 2025
Here's what I'm told about James Pearce Jr: 'He's exactly what Jeff Ulbrich wants in a rusher. Tall, long, explosive, fast. He will thrive in that defense.' #Falcons
— Maria Martin (@Ria_Martin) April 25, 2025
The Falcons obviously had Pearce rated above other edge rushers like Mike Green and Donovan Ezeiruaku, both of whom were higher on Yahoo Sports' rankings. Atlanta also clearly felt that they would not be able to get an edge rusher at No. 46, 14 picks into the second round.
It's a decision that will be called into question next April — especially if that pick could have been used to add some help while the pass rush wasn't improved.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
35 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Cavaliers' Darius Garland has surgery on the injured left big toe that hampered him during playoffs
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (AP) — Cavaliers guard Darius Garland had surgery Monday on the injured left big toe that hampered him during Cleveland's exit from the playoffs. The Cavaliers said the procedure was performed by Dr. Nicholas Strasser at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, in consultation with team physician Dr. James Rosneck and Dr. Bob Anderson. The All-Star guard missed the final two games of the regular season and four games during the playoffs with the injury, which was described as a sprain. 'Definitely wasn't myself. It was pretty uncomfortable but trying to do everything to win the game. It was frustrating because I wasn't 100 percent,' Garland said after the Cavaliers lost to the Indiana Pacers in five games in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Garland is expected to send 4 to 5 months going through a progression of treatment and rehabilitation before resuming basketball activities by the start of training camp. Garland averaged 20.6 points and 6.7 assists during the regular season to help the Cavs finish atop the Eastern Conference. ___ AP NBA:
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Dick Vitale, ESPN agree to contract extension through 2027-28 event in his honor
ESPN announced Monday that it reached a new multi-year contract extension with Dick Vitale, keeping the legendary broadcaster with the network through the 2027–28 season. This deal will bring his tenure with ESPN to nearly 50 years. Since joining the company in its inaugural year in 1979, Vitale has called over 1,000 college basketball games and built a legacy marked by passion, energy and excellence. Advertisement His numerous honors include induction into both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame. Recently, he was awarded the prestigious Dean Smith Award by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) and was recognized with the Winged Foot Award by The New York Athletic Club, introduced by former ESPN President George Bodenheimer. Beyond broadcasting, Vitale has been a tireless advocate in the fight against childhood cancer, with his efforts through the Dick Vitale Pediatric Cancer Research Fund helping the V Foundation award over $105 million in research grants. In celebration of his contract extension and 86th birthday, ESPN Events, in partnership with the Charlotte Sports Foundation, announced the launch of a new annual men's college basketball event honoring Vitale. The inaugural game is set for Tuesday, November 4, at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C., and will feature a matchup between the Texas Longhorns and the Duke Blue Devils. 'ESPN has been such a vital part of my life since December 5, 1979, and I was so thrilled to learn that ESPN Events will have an annual Dick Vitale Invitational,' Vitale said. '(ESPN chairman) Jimmy Pitaro and all my colleagues and friends at ESPN have been so good to me and I am so thankful for all of the prayers and love I have received from them during my cancer battles. ESPN has been family to me and has given me a life that has been even better than my dreams. To the Vitale family, ESPN is 'Awesome, baby' with a capital A!' Dick Vitale told me long ago that previous ESPN management had told him that he had a contract for as long as he worked at the company. The current group of executives has continued to hold up that promise. The addition of a tournament named after him is a nice piece of business to honour someone who helped build ESPN's place in the sport. Advertisement Whether you thought Vitale was too over-the-top or too beholden to his favourites — both of these points have merit — his passion for college basketball has always been clear. His commitment to fighting cancer has been noble. It's nice to see ESPN extend him for a couple of years. I hope he gets to go out — whenever that is — on his own terms. — Richard Deitsch, media reporter
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
Brewers Have Withstood Brutal Start, Pitching Depth Has Them In NL Mix
Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Chad Patrick delivers during a baseball game against the ... More Philadelphia Phillies, Saturday, May 31, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola) The Milwaukee Brewers' regular season couldn't have gotten off to a worse start. They got clubbed in a four-game set at Yankee Stadium getting outscored 47-15 in the process. I wrote about it here - it was even more terrible than the numbers suggest. The club, who was already missing the likes of Brandon Woodruff, DL Hall and Robert Gasser to injury, and had lost depth pieces like Frankie Montas, Colin Rea, Joe Ross and Bryse Wilson since just last season, saw its makeshift Opening Day rotation torn asunder by the Bronx Bombers. Even worse, newcomer Nestor Cortes lasted only two starts before joining the walking wounded. Well, what if I told you in advance that Gasser, Hall and Woodruff would combine for all of 8 1/3 innings through Sunday's game. Could you have possibly imagined that the Brew Crew would be sitting four games over .500 and in the thick of the NL playoff race? But the situation is even better than that. They just might have three largely untapped starting pitchers at the ready. Logan Henderson was brilliant in his first four major league starts, going 3-0, 1.71, with a 29/6 K/BB over 21 innings. Jacob Misiorowski is carving up Triple-A hitters while hitting triple digits with his fastball. And Woodruff……well his story deserves a little detail. He suffered a severe shoulder injury late in 2023, and missed the entire 2024 season. He has now twice been on the verge of rejoining the MLB rotation before fate intervened, first in the form of ankle tendinitis and most recently by a line drive to his pitching elbow last Tuesday. He'll need yet another rehab assignment once the swelling goes down - the club hopes it will be a short one. Without those guys, somehow, someway, the Brewers have posted the 2nd best ERA among NL rotations through Saturday, at 3.41. Now, it hasn't exactly been all sunshine and rainbows, as their starters have averaged less than five innings per start, and their 8.2 K/9 IP sits exactly at the NL average. Righty staff ace Freddy Peralta was the single known quantity in the Brewer rotation entering the season, and he hasn't disappointed. Jose Quintana was a late free agent sign, and after a late entry into the rotation, has been more than reliable. Aaron Civale and Tobias Myers have both missed time with injuries, but have at least shown signs of being stabilizing forces. They spent significant prospect capital to bring aboard Quinn Priester aboard from the Red Sox, a gutsy call that appears to have been vindicated. But perhaps the best starter of them all has been previously unheralded 26-year-old righty Chad Patrick. Patrick was the Diamondbacks' 4th round draft pick in 2021 out of Purdue. His minor league performance wasn't particularly notable. Each season I prepare a list of top minor league starting pitching prospects based on statistical performance and age relative to league and level. Patrick never made my list. In 2023, he was traded twice - first by the D'backs to the Athletics for Jace Peterson and then by the A's to the Brewers for Abraham Toro. Just a guy, pretty much, but at least a guy that clubs were interested in acquiring for complementary major leaguers. Patrick lacks a functional breaking ball. It's almost all four-seamers, sinkers and especially cutters. But the Brewers have proven successful at building perfectly acceptable big league starters out of ordinary raw materials. See Rea, Colin, 2024. And quite honestly, while Patrick's success has clearly been a pleasant surprise from the Brewers' perspective, the underlying data doesn't suggest that he's been particularly lucky. Patrick's K and BB rates are pretty squarely in the league average range, with the latter a bit better than average. This means that the distance between him and a league average pitcher is pretty much dependent on his contact management performance, and despite pretty pedestrian raw stuff, he's done very well on that front. Overall, Patrick's average exit speed allowed of 88.9 degrees isn't eyecatching, sitting in the league average range. While he's allowed his liners and grounders to be hit harder than average, his average fly ball exit speed allowed of 88.7 mph is over a full standard deviation lower than league average. And that's a good thing, because he allows a lot of fly balls. But with that 39.9% fly ball rate (over a standard deviation higher than league average) comes a whopping 7.1% pop up rate (over two higher). His 20.9 degree average launch angle allowed is higher than that of any 2024 ERA-title qualifier. Now perhaps there is a little bit of good fortune baked into his 58 Adjusted Fly Ball Contact Score (100 equals league average, the lower the better), but that could very well be offset by expected downward regression in his outrageously high 26.3% liner rate (over two standard deviations higher than league average). Put it all together, and Patrick has posted a 94 Adjusted Contact Score to date, with his 86 'Tru' ERA- (my batted ball-based proxy for ERA- and FIP-) not far off the pace of his 71 and 81 marks in those mainstream measures. The Brewers know what they are doing. They often let their stars, like Corbin Burnes, Willy Adames and Devin Williams, walk right before their fortunes take a downturn. Their offense is good enough, and they rightly believe in their ability to prevent runs with a pairing of exceptional team defense and affordable arms who pitch to the apex of their ability in their formative years. Chad Patrick is one of their latest success stories. As usual, they'll be in the NL playoff mix throughout the summer and fall.
