Jj
Pegues.
Jj
Pegues.
Mississippi· 6'3"· 309 lb· 5.15s 40
"Pegues began his career as a tight end and finished it scoring seven rushing touchdowns as a 309-pound nose tackle, which tells you everything about his athletic background and his role."Pre-draft read
Pegues plays with heavy hands and a low center of gravity. He anchors against single blocks, he does not get displaced by down blocks, and he has enough short-area quickness for a 309-pounder to shoot a gap when he times the snap. Five years of SEC snaps built a player who understands leverage and block recognition.
He is also, genuinely, a goal-line running back — Ole Miss handed him 21 carries in 2024 and he scored seven times. As a pass rusher he is a bull rusher and little else. A 5.15 forty and a 27.5-inch vertical confirm the limited explosiveness, and his pass-rush wins come from pushing the pocket rather than beating a guard cleanly.
Defense that values a true early-down nose — a front willing to give him 1-tech and 2i reps on run downs and take him off the field on third and long.
Year 1: rotational run stuffer plus short-yardage offensive gimmick. Ceiling: starting early-down 1-tech.
Sub-heavy defense that plays nickel on most snaps and needs interior pass rush from every lineman.
His snap count is decided by how often his defense plays base personnel.
JJ Pegues | Defensive Line | Full 2024 Ole Miss Highlights | 2025 NFL Draft
NFL DRAFT: JJ Pegues Highlights
JJ Pegues Highlights
Pegues played 62 games across Auburn and Ole Miss, starting as a tight end before converting to the defensive line. His career defensive totals are 125 tackles, 27.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks, with his best season in 2024: 42 tackles and 13.5 tackles for loss.
The run defense is the pitch. He wins the leverage battle against interior blockers, he keeps linebackers clean, and he has the play strength to hold up on early downs from day one. The unusual athletic history — a converted tight end at 309 pounds — shows up in his balance and his body control.
The pass-rush limitation is what puts him in the sixth round. Ten sacks in five seasons, a 5.15 forty and a 27.5-inch vertical do not project sub-package snaps, and modern defenses ask their interior linemen to affect the quarterback. Las Vegas is drafting a two-down nose tackle who can eat 25 snaps a game and score a touchdown in short yardage. That is a real, if narrow, NFL job.
- 01
Powerful Anchor
At 309 pounds, he does not get displaced against single blocks.
- 02
Excellent Leverage
He demonstrates excellent leverage and pad level for his size.
- 03
Tackles for Loss
He recorded 27.5 career tackles for loss despite a nose alignment.
- 04
Offensive Value
He had seven rushing touchdowns in 2024, showing rare short-yardage offensive value.
- 05
SEC Competition
He has five years of SEC competition against pro-caliber interior blockers.
- 01
Minimal Pass Rush
He has 10 sacks across five seasons, indicating a minimal pass-rush toolbox.
- 02
Poor Explosiveness
His testing showed poor explosiveness with a 5.15 forty and 27.5-inch vertical.
- 03
Two-Down Profile
He has a two-down profile and comes off the field in obvious passing situations.
- 04
Inconsistent Hands
His hand usage is inconsistent when the initial bull rush stalls.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 5.15sp50
- Vertical
- 27.5inp50
- Broad jump
- —in
- Three-cone
- —s
- Shuttle
- —s
- Bench
- —rep
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Auburn | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | Auburn | 13 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | Ole Miss | 12 | 25 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023 | Ole Miss | 13 | 42 | 3.5 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2024 | Ole Miss | 13 | 42 | 3.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | — | 62 | 125 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Pegues projects as a strong rotational run defender who can eat blocks and hold his ground, providing reliable interior presence much like Saunders.
Pegues possesses the rare athletic ability and power to become a dominant nose tackle, anchoring the run defense with disruptive plays similar to Reader's impact.
If Pegues struggles with consistency and conditioning, he could end up as a fringe roster player, offering occasional snaps in run defense as Cowart has.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
The Raiders added a run-down body, which is what sixth-round interior linemen are for.
The pass rush is why he was there. Ten sacks in five years with that testing profile makes him a situational player before he takes a snap.
The likely career is several years as a rotational nose who plays 300 snaps a season, holds the point on early downs and gets a couple of goal-line carries a year as a novelty. Useful depth, not a building block.