Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce Jr. could be a top-10 pick in this year's NFL Draft. He's also at risk of falling off some teams' boards completely.
Knowing they have the environment to support him, asks Mike Valenti, would the Lions take a chance on the talent? "Do you believe the Lions have a good culture? Do you believe the Lions have a strong locker room? Do you believe the Lions are built now, with enough winning, that they could sustain adding a problem?"
Pearce had 17.5 sacks and 28 tackles for loss over his final two seasons at Tennessee and ran a 4.47 in the 40 at the combine last week, fastest at his position. He could be a menace rushing the passer in Detroit opposite Aidan Hutchinson.
But, Pearce "did not interview well with teams" at the combine and failed to quiet the "character concerns" around his name, which "could cause him to slide significantly," per Walter Football: "Multiple sources at different teams said that Pearce was being dropped off their board."
Per another report from Cory Kinnan, Pearce was "seen as undeniably uncoachable" at Tennessee, where he had "one foot out the door" last season. One NFL scout said that Pearce has "the worst character report of any player in this draft class."
If the Lions' locker room and culture "is strong enough," says Valenti, "you could bring that kid in here and turn him around, and you are essentially the Eagles where you draft the falling rock and the player turns into a Pro Bowler, like a Nakobe Dean or a Jalen Carter."
There's nobody else potentially available to the Lions at No. 28 overall that "has the ability of James Pearce Jr.," says Valenti. "It’s just whether you think you’ve got the staff to bring it out of him, the veteran leadership to bring it out of him. When he wants it and when he was putting it out there, you go, ‘Holy hell, he’s very similar to (potential No. 1 overall pick) Abdul Carter.'"
Under Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes, Valenti says that "if a player’s talent is exorbitant, if it’s off the charts, and he’s got a character concern, I now believe the Lions have graduated into the class of team that can fix a guy."
And harnessing a talent like Pearce could put the Lions over the top in the NFC: "We know the team is good, but the neighborhood’s getting tougher. And you get to a point, when you’re close, often times it’s going to be a big risk that puts you over the top."