Nate Tice: Alec Pierce is a '42-inch Vertical Guy'

Pierce is the consensus 113th-ranked player in the 2022 NFL Draft class.

CINCINNATI — Former Bearcats wide receiver Alec Pierce can boost his draft stock in a few different ways at this week's NFL Combine, but The Athletic's Nate Tice thinks the athletic testing will be a big boon for dangerous pass catcher.

Pierce is a high-upside athletic burner as an X receiver. He was a multi-sport athlete in high school and has developed at a rapid pace in Luke Fickell's program. He is the consensus 17th-best receiver in the 2022 class and the 113th overall player.

"A random guy that I think will have really good testing is Alec Pierce from Cincinnati," Tice said on The Athletic Football Show. "He was a volleyball player in high school. All of his family were athletes. I actually think he went to the high school that Matt Bowen from ESPN coaches at. So he bounced around—his freshman year they moved him. They wanted to try him out at linebacker.

"Then they put him back at receiver; he was like a special teams ace. Then last year, they said, 'hey, you're a receiver.' Looked good, got hurt, then he finally played receiver this year. But he is almost 6-foot-3, about 210 (pounds). Ball winner-type, straight-line speed. He got better as a route runner as this year went on because he just doesn't have a lot of reps...I think he'll be like a 42-inch vertical guy, which I don't think anyone's expecting."

Pierce is the consensus 17th-best receiver in the 2022 class and the 113th-player overall. That would make him a projected fourth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. He's trying to take Mardy Gilyard's crown as the highest wide receiver selection in program history. The Rams selected Gilyard with the 99th pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.

Check out the full episode with Tice and Robert Mays here.

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