RB, Florida
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 218 lbs
Class: Senior
A four-star recruit in 2018, Pierce was the No. 8 ranked running back in the class. He earned 17 offers and initially committed to play for Alabama, before rowing back on this decision due to concerns around playing time. Pierce eventually settled on Florida, where he earned 329 carries over his four seasons with the Gators. His college career culminated with an excellent 2021 season that saw him rush for 574 yards and 13 touchdowns on just 100 carries.
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Strengths
At 5’10” and 218 lbs, Pierce has the size you want in an NFL running back. He pairs this with outstanding play strength and toughness as a runner. This helped him to have a tonne of success on gap scheme runs, with the lower body strength and churn to consistently grind out additional yardage. It was rare to see Pierce taken down on first contact.
Pierce is also very difficult to bring down in space. He makes light work of arm tackles and showcases a very impressive stiff arm move. This all helped him to average a very impressive 3.4 yards after contact during his college career and he was routinely able to overcome poor blocking from his offensive line. Pierce’s size and strength profile help make him an easy projection to the NFL.
He isn’t just a power back though. Pierce offers legitimately impressive burst for his size and has good change of direction ability. His low centre of gravity allows him to make quick and smooth cuts, eluding defenders in space. This makes him ideally suited to zone runs, where he was able to utilise his quick cutting ability and good vision to read the flow of the defense and make opponents miss. Pierce forced 82 missed tackles on just 329 career attempts.
Pierce also displays the ability to be a difference maker on third downs, which is essential for any modern running back prospect. As a pass catcher he showcases soft and reliable hands, with the contact balance and elusiveness to pick up additional yardage after the catch. Pierce is also comfortable as a pass protector, with the vision to pick up additional rushers and the strength to hold his own in one-on-ones.
Weaknesses
The big question mark with Pierce is his low workload in college. He rarely featured for the Gators, never logging more than 106 carries in a single season. Even in a very impressive 2021 campaign, Pierce averaged less than 10 touches per game. He has also never exceeded 15 carries in a single game. Whilst he was very productive on a per touch basis at Florida, there will obviously be questions about whether he can handle a high volume role in the NFL.
The other concern with Pierce is that he doesn’t possess great long speed. Whilst his short area quickness is very good, he can have issues when making it to the second level and trying to pull away from defenders. Just six of his 329 career carries have gone for 30+ yards and he may not be much of a home run threat at the next level as a result.
Bottom Line
Pierce might not have had a heavy workload in college, but there is a tonne to like about his game. His combination of size and burst is easily translatable to the NFL level and he has shown the ability to make an impact on third downs. He is comfortable operating zone and gap running concepts and can be a good lead running back at the next level.
Ideal role: Scheme-versatile running back
Round projection: 2nd round
