Across the past six weeks, only Myles Garrett has more sacks than Atlanta Falcons' rookie pass-rusher James Pearce Jr. He's taken the NFL by storm recently and has emerged as a popular Defensive Rookie of the Year frontrunner after adding another two sacks to his total in Week 15.
Pearce is amid a six-game sack streak, which saw him join Micah Parsons as the only rookies this century to do so. The Tennessee product has helped to transform the Atlanta pass rush, but he's also made other NFL teams regret letting him fall into the Falcons' lap with the 26th overall pick in April.
Somehow, Pearce was the fifth EDGE rusher selected in 2025, but the player selected directly before him is making the Cincinnati Bengals have buyer's remorse. Nine picks earlier, the Bengals selected Shemar Stewart with the No. 17 pick, and he's looked a massive draft bust early in his pro career.
The Bengals certainly regret their decision to draft Shemar Stewart over James Pearce Jr.
The 22-year-old never put up earth-shattering numbers at Texas A&M, which made the decision to draft Stewart even more puzzling. He spent the majority of training camp in a months-long contract stalemate with the team, and hasn't even backed up their decision while on the field.
Stewart has been on injured reserve since early November after suffering a knee injury against the Bears in Week 9, and has only played in five games with no sacks on the season after suffering an ankle injury back in Week 2 and another lower-body injury upon returning from the ankle injury.
The 6-foot-5, 267-pound EDGE rusher was heralded as a project coming out of college, but Cincy wanted to see him emerge as the immediate running mate to Trey Hendrickson. And it stings even worse knowing they missed out on the actual perfect running mate for Hendrickson in Pearce Jr.
Hendrickson is set to hit free agency this spring, meaning that Cincinnati actually should have been searching for his successor. It's become clear that the man who currently leads all rookies in sacks while continuing to shatter Falcons' rookie records would have been perfect in orange and black.
Instead, Jeff Ulbrich has capitalized on the Bengals' ineptitude. Jalon Walker was the last pass-rusher drafted before Stewart and is second among all rookies in sacks, while Pearce has vindicated Terry Fontenot's controversial decision to trade Atlanta's 2026 first-round pick to move up and draft him.