Panthers add more punch to their edge rotation in this 2025 NFL mock draft

A new mock draft from the 33rd team has the Carolina Panthers finishing with the second overall pick and using it on one of the nation's best edge rushers.

Tim Weaver | Aug 22, 2024

KNOXVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 18: Tennessee Volunteers defensive lineman James Pearce Jr. (27) prepares to rush during a college football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Georgia Bulldogs on November 18, 2023, at Neyland Stadium, in Knoxville, TN. / (Photo by Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

In this story:

Carolina Panthers

When the Carolina Panthers ill-advisedly traded Brian Burns to the New York Giants it became inevitable that they'd have to eventually replace him in the NFL draft. A new 2025 mock from the 33rd team has the Panthers attempting to do that with a high pick.

After what must have been another dismal 2024 season, Carolina winds up picking second overall in their mock draft. Instead of dumping Bryce Young and starting over yet again at the quarterback position, the 33rd team has the Panthers going in a different direction and selecting Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce at that spot.

Pearce (6-foot-5, 243 pounds) is coming off a breakout sophomore season for the Vols, having posted 10 sacks, 14.5 tackles for a loss, a pick-six and two forced fumbles to boot. Here's the highlight reel.

James Pearce 2023 Tennessee highlights

If Pearce follows up with another strong season in 2024, he could definitely wind up as a top-10 overall pick. It's difficult to say if he'll go top-two, though as quarterback-needy teams tend to wind up in those first few spots either by bad records or trading up.

If the Panthers do end up picking this high, the best use of their draft capital will be on a quarterback - assuming that Young hasn't made that sophomore leap. It is possible he could have a third-year breakout the way Josh Allen did with the Buffalo Bills, but that's an exceedingly rare scenario.

It is possible that Young will flourish but it won't translate into wins thanks to a rash of injuries to other key players or if Dave Canales turns out to be in over his head as a first-year coach at this level. If that's the case, then there's nothing wrong with adding a prospect like Pearce, even if it would have been better to keep Burns and pair him with Jadeveon Clowney in the first place.