Falcons' James Pearce Jr. Forcing His Way Into DROY Conversation

FLOWERY BRANCH – The Atlanta Falcons made a rather big bet on edge rusher James Pearce Jr. in last spring’s NFL Draft. Through 13 weeks of his rookie season, it would appear that their gamble has started paying off.

Atlanta doesn’t own its first-round pick next spring, and that will generate plenty of noise from fans and pundits. However, Pearce has already established a compelling case that the Falcons were justified in their decision.

The rookie pass rusher has seemingly taken another step every week of his young career.

He has a sack in each of his last four games, which is fantastic by itself, but it is the fact that he is starting to create those opportunities for himself that is so exciting. Take a look at this clip from his most recent sack against the New York Jets on Sunday.

Falcons rookie EDGE James Pearce Jr. is taking steps every week. His 4th straight game with a sack.

Perfectly timed chop into the counter spin. Fantastic rep. pic.twitter.com/mtbuA8egDd
— Tre’Shon (@tre3shon) December 1, 2025

A welcome sight to fans: rookies Jalon Walker and Pearce bookending second-year defensive linemen Brandon Dorlus and Ruke Orhorhoro in the middle.

Look at how Dorlus takes on the guard’s outside shoulder before whipping inside with some ferocity to take on a double team. That effort gives Pearce the inside lane on the right tackle’s inner shoulder. He executes a beautiful spin move that puts him right into the lap of the quarterback.

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Pearce’s toolbox is expanding, and the Falcons are trusting him with more pure pass-rush snaps each week. His weekly commitment to quarterback pressures is finally starting to pay dividends in the sack department.

“We constantly talk about the young outside guys and what they've been doing, but watching James [Pearce Jr.] yesterday rush, that was the moment we talk about,” Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said. “James making an inside move on the spin, getting the sack, that should be the killer for us.”

The rookie is not just cleaning up sacks. He is pushing his way into them and wreaking havoc as he goes.

After his 4.5 sacks in the last four games, he is now tied with Walker atop the rookie sack leaderboard (5.0).

Browns rookie linebacker Carson Schwesinger remains an overwhelming favorite to win the Defensive Rookie of the Year award. Pearce will force his way into the discussion if he can continue with performances like this.

Pearce may not be the frontrunner for the rookie award, but he’s quickly becoming a foundational piece to the Falcons' defense. If his trajectory continues, the team’s aggressive move up the draft board won’t be remembered as a gamble, but instead as the moment their pass rush finally turned a corner.