The wild first wave of free agency is in the rearview mirror and the opening of the 2025 NFL draft is officially less than 3 weeks away. What has changed since my last mock draft based on the moves made by the Philadelphia Eagles?
It is Mock Draft 2.0 time!
Round 1, Pick 32: James Pearce Jr., EDGE, Tennessee
Previous Mock Draft Selection: Princely Umanmielen, EDGE, Ole Miss
NFL teams aren't really going to let another top talent fall to the Eagles like they did Jalen Carter in 2023, are they? The “character concerns” are now something NFL teams are considering heavily with Pearce Jr. One team going so far as saying they might remove him from their board altogether. Prior to this situation, he was hanging around a borderline top-10 pick. Now? Who knows what will happen!
Pearce Jr. falls to the Eagles in this scenario, and if he starts to fall on draft night, I could see Howie making a small move up to get him. Pearce is coming off back-to-back first-team All-SEC seasons, racking up 17.5 sacks, 27.5 tackles for loss, and three forced fumbles across those seasons. He's got explosion, length, advanced football IQ and eye-popping production.
The Eagles have a need at edge across from Nolan Smith and Pearce would be a plug-and-play impact starter. He fits the bill of your typical Eagles pass rusher. High-end athletic measurables and traits, despite being a little undersized. It's easy and understandable why teams let character concerns substantially step into the conversation. If things check out for Howie on the character front, he won't be afraid to make that move. It has paid dividends for the Eagles in the past.