KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – After guiding the Volunteers to a 10-win season and the College Football Playoff, NFL Draft day has arrived for Tennessee VFLs who are prepared for the next chapter of their careers.
The 2025 NFL Draft from Green Bay gets underway with round one at 8 p.m. ET Thursday on ESPN, ABC and NFL Network. Rounds two and three begin at 7 p.m. Friday and rounds four through seven begin at noon Saturday. Any undrafted VFLs can then sign free agent contracts with teams.
Edge rusher James Pearce Jr., following back-to-back first-team All-SEC campaigns, is likely to be the first Vol off the board. Pearce wrecked opposing backfields during his time on Rocky Top, racking up 29.5 tackles for loss and 19.5 sacks. The Charlotte native arrived in Knoxville as a five-star prospect and is slated to continue a long, successful pipeline of Vol edge rushers at the next level.
Pearce Jr. is seeking to become Tennessee’s 48th all-time first round pick.
Running back Dylan Sampson, the 2024 SEC Offensive Player of the Year, has positioned himself to likely come off the board Friday night. Sampson is coming off a second-team All-America season where he rushed for a school-record 1,491 yards on 258 carries with 22 touchdowns.
Sampson will follow in the footsteps of former teammate Jaylen Wright and give the Vols back-to-year years of a running back drafted.
Perhaps no Vols have elevated their draft status more since January than wide receiver Dont’e Thornton Jr. and defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott. Both excelled in the pre-draft process and performed at the NFL Combine. Thornton ran a blistering 4.30 40-yard dash in Indianapolis and drew rave reviews at UT Pro Day. Norman-Lott boasts one of the top pass rush win rates in the draft.
Additional Vols looking to hear their names called include wide receiver Bru McCoy, defensive tackle Elijah Simmons, defensive tackle Omari Thomas and offensive linemen Cooper Mays, Javontez Spraggins and John Campbell Jr.
Tennessee enters the weekend with 387 all-time NFL Draft picks dating back to 1936, which includes the 1967 AFL Draft merger. A total of 13 Vols have been selected during the Josh Heupel era (2022 draft to present), which is the highest three-year span for the program since 2006-08.
Source: UT Sports
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