One of the biggest winners from this year’s NFL Scouting Combine was Cincinnati wide receiver Alec Pierce. Pierce flew around the field posting an impressive 40-yard dash time of 4.41 seconds, a 40.5-inch vertical, and a broad jump of 11 feet four inches. It was quite a day for the 6-3, 211-pound wide receiver who caught 106 passes for 1,851 yards and 13 touchdowns during his college career.
If Pierce wasn’t already on the Green Bay Packers’ radar, he is now. The Packers will likely add a pass catcher in the 2022 NFL draft, and Pierce falls right in line with the team’s physical and athletic thresholds.
As of right now, the Packers only have a handful of wide receivers signed to their roster for next season. If they can’t reach a deal with Davante Adams, the team is expected to utilize the franchise tag to prevent the All-Pro wide receiver from leaving in free agency. Green Bay also has to decide on Allen Lazard and Marquez Valdes-Scantling – two players who have spent the last four seasons with the Packers but are now set to be free agents.
If Green Bay is unable to bring back all three of their top pass-catchers from last season, Pierce is an intriguing option for several reasons. From an early standpoint, he has the potential to contribute on special teams right away. Expect the Packers to seek out prospects who can provide a boost to a struggling special teams’ unit all throughout the draft. Pierce certainly checks that box.
However, Pierce would not be limited to special teams. After watching some film, one observation I made was Pierce essentially takes all the best traits of Lazard and Valdes-Scantling and packs them into one player. He has the physical toughness of Lazard and also the blazing speed comparable to Valdes-Scantling.
For this article, we are going to take a closer look at Pierce’s film to discover more about the wide receiver prospect, and why he would be a good fit in Green Bay. Keep in mind this is only one game, but we can see the wide range of Pierce’s skill set in his performance against Notre Dame from last season.
Let’s begin.
Taking a closer look at Cincinnati WR Alec Pierce. He meets the #Packers size and athletic thresholds and could be a really good fit.
He’s a big receiver who plays strong. Not easily disrupted by a physical corner, he accelerates well and creates good separation on this dig. pic.twitter.com/xLMSqnEh0E
— Brandon Carwile (@PackerScribe) March 6, 2022
Right away we see Pierce has no issues accelerating, but here, we see how Pierce handles a physical corner in man-to-man coverage. Pierce does a nice job using his hands to fight off the jam. He gets the inside release he wants because he is running an in-breaking route. At the top of the route, Pierce is able to break down and create separation, even making the defensive back stumble a bit. Pierce didn’t run an extensive route tree in college, but this example shows a solid route with good attention to detail that he can win with at the next level.
Shows upside as a zone beater pic.twitter.com/48oLte21Dj
— Brandon Carwile (@PackerScribe) March 6, 2022
Pierce will be more effective against zone than man at the next level. He shows good mental processing skills to diagnose coverages and can get to his landmarks to put himself in the best position to get the ball. Here we see Pierce using good depth on the hook route and finding a nice pocket in the zone. He isn’t known for creating much after the catch, but this play shows some potential.
Here’s that 4.4 speed pic.twitter.com/Gb4avrMAwn
— Brandon Carwile (@PackerScribe) March 6, 2022
This rep has Valdes-Scantling written all over it. Pierce uses his speed to blow by the defender, and he does it with relative ease. This example shows that his play speed matches up with his time speed. Even though the corner makes a good play on the ball to force an incompletion, we see the big-play threat Pierce can be.
Pierce adds value as a willing run blocker, which is a requirement of all Green Bay wide receivers. pic.twitter.com/0DuoSSZPy9
— Brandon Carwile (@PackerScribe) March 6, 2022
Here is the Lazard side to Pierce’s game. Every wide receiver for the Packers must be willing to block in the run game. Pierce is not only willing, but he accepts the responsibility as a chance to show off his size and strength. We see him using good hand placement as a stalk blocker so his teammates can gain extra yards. Green Bay will not overlook this aspect about Pierce.
Can beat press with his feet using a nice shimmy release. Nice finish by high pointing the ball downfield. pic.twitter.com/fc6JDDdlS7
— Brandon Carwile (@PackerScribe) March 6, 2022
He is not on the level of Adams’ release game, but then again, who is? Pierce has shown that he can his hands and feet to win at the line of scrimmage against press coverage. Here, his quick feet help him gain leverage to the outside. His speed then allows him to stack the corner, allowing the quarterback to have an easier throw. At the catch point, Pierce high points the ball beautifully. This is another great example of Pierce’s downfield ability and what he can bring to the Packers’ offense as a vertical threat.
Not afraid to go over the middle either. Pierce is physically and mentally tough. pic.twitter.com/QASd4GbtPD
— Brandon Carwile (@PackerScribe) March 6, 2022
Pierce is not only physically tough but mentally tough as well. Green Bay needs another guy who can operate underneath and is not afraid to go over the middle of the field. This is something Pierce could add. He has good mental processing to find holes in coverages and has the competitive toughness to take a hit and bounce right back up.
Another rep against press man, Alec Pierce makes it look easy. pic.twitter.com/nLMsMs4grs
— Brandon Carwile (@PackerScribe) March 6, 2022
Let’s finish with another strong rep against press. Again, Pierce predominately uses his feet to get off the jam. He takes an outside release and flashes his speed to get over the top so the quarterback can take a holeshot in between the corner and safety. It is easy to imagine Pierce doing this in the Packers’ offense.
Obviously, Pierce is not a perfect prospect, even though we only highlighted what he does well. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlen thinks Pierce will face a lot of press coverage at the next level due to his release limitations. It is a valid point as Pierce doesn’t have elite quickness, despite his outstanding long speed. Pierce will likely struggle against physical corner early on, but he has the tools to expand and refine his release package.
Pierce will also need to improve his route running. Because he isn’t very twitchy, creating separation won’t come easy. It will depend on the scheme and his ability to do nuanced things that take a lot of detail. Luckily, Green Bay’s scheme fits Pierce’s profile, and they have a history of getting the most out of their wide receivers even when the limitations are evident.
Overall, given his upside and physical traits, I think Pierce would be an excellent day two addition for the Packers in this year’s draft.
