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Alec Pierce- WR


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Has been on my radar if the Jets don't go after a WR early in the draft. Thoughts on Pierce in the 3rd or 4th (wherever he's projected) round to potentially develop into that X receiver across from Davis which Mims has struggled so much in. Love watching him play. 

Alec Pierce 2021 Senior Season Highlights | Cincinnati Bearcats Wide Receiver | NFL Draft Prospect - YouTube

 

A multi-sport athlete from Illinois that competed in football, volleyball, basketball, and track, Alec Pierce made his presence felt as a true freshman on special teams before commanding a big role in the offense starting in 2019. A three-year starter, Pierce’s blend of size, speed, hands, ball skills, body control, and competitive toughness made him a dynamic playmaker for the Bearcats offense. His size, speed, and ball skills are a lethal combination down the field. His ability to track, adjust, and secure the football in traffic down the field is outstanding. Pierce is a deceptive route-runner that accelerates quickly and uses his ability to generate vertical push to open up his route tree and snap off breaks on the horizontal plane in addition to winning down the field. Pierce is a receiver that “catches everything” and is an alpha in everything he does on the field. He brings the fight as a blocker and demonstrates toughness when competing against press coverage, dealing with contact as a route-runner, and winning at the catch point. While he hasn’t been overly productive after the catch in college, Pierce is decisive and physical with the ball in his hands and he accelerates quickly. When it comes to areas of growth, Pierce can still find more variety with his release package and do a better job of not offering as much surface area when competing against press coverage. He would also benefit from continuing to add functional strength to maximize his style of play at the next level. Pierce has the makings of a productive No. 2/3 receiver in the NFL and it shouldn’t take him long to produce for his offense. 

Ideal Role: X receiver/big slot 

Scheme Fit: Any

FILM EVALUATION

Written by Joe Marino 

Games watched: Notre Dame (2021), East Carolina (2021), Tulsa (2021), Tulane (2021)

Best Game Studied: Notre Dame (2021)

Worst Game Studied: Tulane (20210 

Route Running: Pierce is a deceptive route-runner that generates strong vertical push in his stem and his ability to win down the field opens opportunities for him to sell and snap off routes. He is crisp through his breaks and I love how he bends both his stem and breaks to move defenders and create space. He makes terrific adjustments against zone coverage and knows how to make himself available.

Hands: Pierce has outstanding hands and he rarely drops the football. He routinely makes catches in traffic and squeezes the football tightly away from his frame. He is extremely natural catching the football, routinely hauling in the ball in stride, and displaying comfort in traffic. 

Separation: Pierce is a sufficient separator who uses deception as a route-runner to uncover. He has terrific acceleration and is capable of getting on top of corners and winning down the field. There are some instances where his modest agility leads to some segmentation when working to get around aggressive corners at the line of scrimmage and he can be capped. 

Release Package: Pierce uses a blend of foot-fire and hand technique to clear press coverage. He is physical and competitive to clear jams and get into his route. He can do a better job of reducing the surface area he offers and be more deceptive above the waist when competing against press.

Run After Catch: Pierce is competitive, physical, and decisive after the catch. Given how he was used in college, he was not provided with the most advantageous opportunities to create additional yardage after the catch. I don’t anticipate yards after the catch to be a major part of what he contributes but he is capable. 

Ball Skills: Pierce makes silly catches every time you pop on the tape. He has supreme body control and does a wonderful job of putting himself in position to make a play on the ball in the air. The game truly slows down for him at the catch point. He locates, tracks, and adjusts to the football at a high level. 

Football IQ: Pierce’s commitment to sound technique as a route-runner and ability to read coverage and adjust on the fly speaks to his football intelligence. He runs his routes with good pace and deception. He is decisive after the catch and was flagged for just one penalty through the entirety of his college career. 

Versatility: Pierce has appeal as a traditional X receiver or big slot at the next level. I like him best in the intermediate to deep portions of the field—he doesn’t have the skill set that commands manufactured touches that are designed to allow for YAC. Pierce has never been tasked with return opportunities and hasn't played much on special teams over the last two seasons at Cincinnati. 

Competitive Toughness: Pierce’s competitive spirit shines on tape. He is physical as a route-runner, at the catch point and with the ball in his hands. He brings the fight as a blocker and can be trusted to hit key blocks on the perimeter. His alpha mentality is apparent. 

Big Play Ability: Pierce’s speed, ball skills, hands, and body control make him a dynamic threat down the field. He averaged more than 17 yards per catch for his college career and he was clearly the “shot play” guy for the Cincinnati offense. 

Prospect Comparison: Michael Pittman Jr. (2020 NFL Draft, Indianapolis Colts) 

 (thedraftnetwork.com)

 

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I like Pierce, I think i talked about him in my thread about not talked about WR's earlier in the season.  

He reminds me of Decker a little bit and thats why I think I ended up really taking a liking to his game. Tall, strong WR that gets deep in spite of not being the fastest guy in the world, long strider, not great acceleration but builds speed once he gets going.  Just has a knack for winning a deeper route.  

When you watch him everything looks a little awkward to me, kind of like decker in the sense that he's long, strong, but not super fluid, but everything he uses works for him and he just has a knack for making a play in tight situations.   Very good hands (although he had a big drop on a nice route against bama in the playoffs, really wanted to see him come up with that).  He's a long legged guy and with that comes some challenges.  His short area quickness is not the best so he needs to really focus on his footwork on shorter routes in order to snap off his breaks and get in and out of cuts. Also being 6'3 he's been a little inconsistent with dropping his hips on breaks which if he can work on will shave off some time in that area. 

His release moves while showing promise are limited currently.  He does a nice job setting up his defender on deeper routes using a mixture of different techniques, but I have yet to really see him use his stems or foot fire for shorter routes as effectively which will be important.  

He provides a very solid high floor option in the 3rd round if you can grab him there.  

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