Brian Gutekunst and the Green Bay Packers have to get the 2025 NFL Draft right. If they want to make a run at a championship during the upcoming 2025 season, there are still needs to be filled.
After choosing to be relatively quiet throughout the NFL free agency period, the Packers will have one more major opportunity to improve. That opportunity is the draft and Green Bay is scheduled to be on the clock for the first time on Thursday night at No. 23 overall.
One player who has been connected to the Packers throughout the pre-draft process has been Tennessee Volunteers' pass rusher James Pearce Jr. While he's an intriguing player who could add the kind off pass rushing impact Green Bay clearly needs, he also comes with major risk.
Morgan Moriarty of Sporting News has suggested that Pearce is an NFL Draft bust candidate.
"Pearce is ranked No. 13 overall on Vinnie Iyer's big board of top 100 players, but it will be interesting to see if the character concerns cause him to fall out of the first round."
At one point during the 2024 college football season, Pearce was viewed as a potential top-10 pick. His hype has dropped some in recent weeks and months, but his talent is still very obvious.
Throughout his college football career at Tennessee, Pearce played in 39 total games. He racked up 71 total tackles to go along with 19.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, an interception, a defensive touchdown, and two defended passes.
While there is no question that he can get to the quarterback, there are questions about his character and his motor. Should he be able to prove those concerns wrong, he has the talent to become a star at the NFL level.
All of that being said, whoever takes Pearce will be taking gamble. However, his talent alone is worth taking a gamble on for the right time. Perhaps Green Bay will be that team if he drops to No. 23.
