By Charlie Campbell
Weaknesses:
Summary: Over the past few seasons, the Gators had some talented running backs who were used in a platoon fashion by former head coach Dan Mullen. Pierce ran well in limited opportunities as a freshman and sophomore, recording 69 carries, 424 yards, two touchdowns – a 6.1-yard average – in 2018 and 54 carries, 305 yards, four touchdowns – a 5.6-yard average – in 2019. Pierce was given more opportunities as a junior, turning 106 carries into 503 yards – an average of 4.7 yards per carry – and four touchdowns. He also caught 17 passes for 156 yards and a touchdown. In 2021, Pierce took 100 carries but he averaged 5.7 yards per carry for 574 yards and notched 13 touchdowns. He also caught 19 passes for 216 yards and three touchdowns. Pierce played really well as a senior and could have had a huge season if Florida had fielded more consistent quarterback play. After that, Pierce had an excellent week at the Senior Bowl. His 40 at the combine, however, was on the slow side, although that was somewhat expected.
With his skill set, Pierce is a sleeper back who could have the potential to be a three-down starter in the NFL. He is a hard-nosed back that runs angry and often brings pain to defenders who try to tackle him. Coming downhill, Pierce shows serious aggression to run through defenders and power through them to continue to add yards. He has the lower body strength to move the pile and keeps his legs moving after contact.
Even though Pierce is a powerful runner, he is not a slow plodder, possessing some agility. He is quicker than fast, however, and lacks elite speed to run away from defenses. While teams have speed concerns with Pierce, he plays with quickness, showing a burst to hit the hole before it closes and accelerate to the second level. Pierce will get caught from behind in the NFL at times, but he was not a slow back for the SEC.
Pierce has some moves for the open field to dodge tacklers, and while he is not super elusive, he is not completely straight line. On top of his strength and quickness, Pierce has other good traits like very good contact balance, vision, patience and instincts.
In the passing game, Pierce shows a nice ability to serve as an outlet receiver. He is smooth in space and has soft, reliable hands. As a pro, he could be a solid contributor as a receiver and should be a treasure as a blocker. At the Senior Bowl, Pierce put his superb blocking ability on display. He used his size and strength to stonewall defenders on contact while setting up well to hold his ground. Pierce has excellent pass-protection skills and could be a valuable quarterback protector.
Pierce could go as high as the second round in the 2022 NFL Draft or as low as the fourth round. It all depends on how teams view his speed. Pierce could start out his career as a backup rotational back, but he is a sleeper who could evolve into being a quality starter.
Player Comparison: Chris Carson. Pierce reminds me of Carson. Both have a mix of power, quickness, receiving ability, and the toughness to handle a big work load. Pierce could be a similar pro back to Carson.
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