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 (2021)

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: See Above.

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: See Above.

Big Play Ability: See Above.

SCOUT GRADES

TDN Consensus Grade: 75.83/100 (Third Round Valuation)

Crabbs Grade: 74.00/100

Joe Marino: 74.50/100

Harris Grade: 74.00/100

Sanchez Grade: 78.00/100

Weissman Grade: 76.50/100

Parson Grade: 78.00/100