WR Alec Pierce: NFL Draft scouting report and fantasy football profile

Alec Pierce was a part of a historic 2021 Cincinnati Bearcats team that finally crashed the College Football Playoff party as a Group of 5 school after two straight undefeated regular seasons.

Those Bearcats teams were lauded primarily for their defense, but Pierce and company had a big hand in it as well. He led the team in receiving during 2021 with 884 yards and eight touchdowns on 52 catches. He’s also got experience playing linebacker during his freshman season and played on special teams as well, which is where he may factor in on NFL rosters.

WR Alec Pierce: Scouting Report

Pierce has big size and really good speed, standing at 6-foot-3, 211 pounds and ran a 4.41 40-yard time at the NFL Scouting Combine. He was the guy who QB Desmond Ridder went to when he looked deep during his time in Cincy, but he probably doesn’t have the speed or route-running ability to become that sort of player in the NFL. He’ll primarily probably focus on being a possession-catch kind of guy on short and intermediate routes. He’s not the most flawless route runner and has a limited route tree, but when the ball comes toward him he makes the catch and is able to do so through traffic. He has the potential to be pretty dangerous in red-zone situations too if he develops a few more routes consistently.

Mock Draft landing spots

Mel Kiper/Todd McShay (ESPN): No. 62, Kansas City Chiefs

“Yes, Todd gave the Chiefs a wideout in Round 1, but they should take Pierce, too, if he’s available. He’s a speedy (and big) deep threat who can make contested catches. He and Jahan Dotson could help fill the Tyreek Hill role.” -Kiper

Vinnie Iyer (Sporting News): No. 105, San Francisco 49ers

“The 49ers will find it hard to resist adding another big playmaker to support Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. Pierce has appeal because of being able to stretch the field and play off what Samuel, Aiyuk and George Kittle do on intermediate routes.”

Chris Trapasso (CBS Sports): No. 69, New York Jets

Fantasy impact: Rookie year

Pierce likely won’t be a day one starter. He may not even turn into a starter at all on the offensive side, though he should be a big-time player on special teams. He should make an impact here and there in second or third and medium situations, but he’s probably rarely going to take the top off a defense or get wide open. The real place he can get fantasy managers' points is as a red zone threat.

Fantasy impact: Career

That rookie year impact will probably carry over into the rest of his career in the NFL. He could project as a WR 3 or 4 and depending on matchups against specific red zone defenses he could be worth even more than that on a given week.