The Atlanta Falcons traded up to draft James Pearce Jr. on night one for one reason, and one reason only: to hunt quarterbacks.
And even though the rookie edge rusher’s box score production hasn’t fully erupted yet, the underlying analytics suggest that breakout moment is coming. And Week 7 under the primetime lights of Sunday Night Football might be the perfect stage to prove Terry Fontenot right.
Through six weeks, Pearce has been used almost exclusively as a sub-package pass rusher so far, rarely exceeding 25 snaps a ballgame. But changed in Week 6 against Buffalo—when he logged a career-high 29 snaps, signaling that Atlanta’s coaching staff is ready to let him off the leash.