Tennessee football edge rusher James Pearce is a popular pick as the No. 1 overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft. But Vols coach Josh Heupel is pumping the brakes on that hype.

“Mock drafts in late April. We’re a long ways away from (the 2025 draft),” Heupel said at the Big Orange Caravan in Chattanooga on Wednesday.

“What's being said has no chance to be the reality of where you want to be and what you want to have happen if you don’t work and compete the right way and you don’t invest every single day the right way.”

Don’t get the wrong idea. Heupel isn’t criticizing Pearce’s performance or work ethic. He has consistently praised Pearce, a 6-foot-5, 242-pound All-SEC pass rusher.

But Heupel knows that mock drafts mean nothing if the player doesn’t play up to that potential in the season preceding the actual draft. And he recognizes that Pearce will be inundated with positive press clippings heading into his junior season.

“It’s impossible to shut out all the outside noise in today’s environment,” Heupel said. “It’s just not going to happen. When I played, you could. (But) that’s just not how the world operates at this point.

“So that’s the challenge for him to continue to grow that way, to handle this offseason, to handle the season, to handle the NFL process the right way.”

Here's where James Pearce is projected in 2025 NFL Draft

As soon as the 2024 NFL Draft wrapped up, the 2025 mock drafts started touting Pearce’s potential.

Some projected him as the No. 1 pick. Most had him as a top-10 pick. Strangely, CBS Sports didn’t list Pearce in the first round despite ranking him as the No. 2 player in college football.

VOLS IN 2025 NFL DRAFT An early look at which Tennessee players could be draft next year

Here’s a sampling of where mock drafts predict Pearce will be drafted.

• Pro Football Focus: No. 1 to Carolina Panthers

• Bleacher Report: No. 1 to Panthers

• Action Network: No. 1 to Panthers

• Athlon Sports: No. 1 to Panthers

• San Diego Union-Tribune: No. 1 to Panthers

• 247Sports: No. 1 to Panthers

• USA TODAY: No. 3 to Denver Broncos

• Sporting News: No. 3 to Tennessee Titans

• ESPN.com: No. 4 to Panthers

• NBC Sports: No. 4 to Titans

• Associated Press: No. 5 to Panthers

• The Athletic: No. 10 to Tampa Bay Bucs

• Fox Sports: No. 15 to Los Angeles Chargers

• Barstool Sports: No. 16 to Cleveland Browns

• CBS Sports: Not listed in first round

Why NFL scouts love potential of James Pearce

Heupel understands why Pearce was projected so high in mock drafts.

As a sophomore last season, Pearce tied for the SEC lead with 10 sacks and ranked second with 14.5 tackles-for-loss. And he ranked third nationally among edge rushers in pass-rushing grades, according to Pro Football Focus.

Pearce is freakishly athletic, fast off the edge and deceptively strong. He can rush the passer, defend the run and drop into coverage.

To see a sampling of those skills, just watch the Citrus Bowl, when Pearce had two sacks, a forced fumble and 52-yard interception return for a touchdown.

But to be anywhere close to the No. 1 pick, Pearce must sharpen his game to maximize that raw ability.

“James is long, athletic. He’s made a bunch of plays,” Heupel said. “There’s still a lot of growth for James in his understanding of the game, being able to play at the level consistently that he’s capable of and that he wants to.

“He’s a young player still within our program. I say that (because) he wasn’t a mid-year enrollee, (so) he’s had two falls with us. We still expect to see a ton of growth in him and go handle the season the right way.”

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: James Pearce No. 1 pick in 2025 NFL Draft? Josh Heupel's warning