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.
Even in limited action, the former Tennessee standout has flashed the kind of raw traits that translate -- explosiveness off the snap, elite bend around the arc, and the ability to contort his frame through tight angles without losing speed.
At 6-foot-5 and 243 pounds, he’s built in the modern mold of the premier NFL sack artists. Long, lean, and uniquely slippery for someone with that kind of length.
His first step is electric, often forcing tackles to over-set just to prevent him from blowing past the outside shoulder. And when that happens, the All-SEC pass-rusher in Pearce has already shown a natural feel for countering back inside or looping on twists and stunts.
His flexibility allows him to stay low through contact, while his dynamic closing burst makes quarterbacks bail earlier than they want. And that's exactly the type of pressure San Francisco struggled with last week.
Against Tampa Bay, the 49ers surrendered multiple sacks to YaYa Diaby, a different body type to that of Pearce but a fastball-style rusher with similar explosiveness.
Mac Jones is an excellent rhythm passer, but when that rhythm is disrupted -- especially with edge pressure forcing him off his spot -- he becomes far more susceptible to hurried throws and turnover-worthy throws.
Atlanta doesn’t need Pearce to play 60 snaps to change a football game. They just need him to win at the right moments: third downs, late-game drives, red zone snaps where one sack flips momentum. And with the 49ers’ offense predicated on timing, even one early disruption could shake an entire structure.
The Falcons already field a gritty, physical defensive front, but what they’ve lacked in recent years is a true chaos creator off the edge -- the kind of pass rusher who forces protection plans to adjust.
Sunday night is about making another statement for Raheem Morris and his group. And with Jalon Walker inactive in Week 7, it makes the 21-year-old's impact all the more important.
And while stars like Bijan Robinson and Christian McCaffrey will draw headlines, don’t be surprised if it’s Pearce Jr., in a rotational role, who creates the defining moment.
One clean win around the corner. One stunt that finds daylight. One strip-sack in crunch time.
His snap count may not be massive -- but his impact could be seismic.