EAGAN, Minn. — James Pierre estimated that 20 kids around the neighborhood used to bring equipment over to his mom's house to play football on carpets covering grass in their backyard.

"We were getting the feel of it," Pierre smiled. "Hitting each other, tackling each other."

His mom would pick up carpets that were in good condition but were going to be wasted. The mini-games involved 5-to-6-year-olds, and Pierre isn't the only one of them who turned professional.

Brandon Powell did, as well.

Pierre is one year and four days younger than the former Vikings receiver. They were raised on the same street in Broward County, Florida, and they played tackle football from sunup to sundown.

"Seven years in the league, not drafted, where we come from, man, it's surreal," Powell said of Pierre, who signed with Minnesota in March following six seasons and 95 games with the Steelers. "I don't really bother 'Jamie' too much during the season while he's playing, but me and his brother, we literally were just out there at the park talking about it. Like, man, it's crazy how we both come from playing in the backyard at his mom's house on the carpet, and to now get to watch him on TV."

Pierre has gelled nicely so far as a perimeter defender in Brian Flores' scheme. He leads all NFL cornerbacks through three games in passer rating against (6.5), according to Pro Football Focus (min. 70 coverage snaps). He gathered the team's first interception of the season in Week 1 against Green Bay, and he's tied atop the team leaderboard for pass breakups (three) with Byron Murphy, Jr.

"I know Coach Flo' is having a day with him," said Powell, "and I know he's loving it there."

Joshua Metellus said it "Feels like he's been here my whole time. He's one of those great team fits."

There's a backstory there, too, that is serving the Vikings secondary. Metellus and Pierre played against one another during the high school schedule — Metellus wincingly recalled Deerfield Beach squeaking past Flanagan late on the calendar one season — but they trained together and teamed up on a talent-rich 7-on-7 outfit known as the Florida Fire that traveled the country for tournaments.

"We called him 'Whoa' at the time because all he says is 'Whoa, whoa, whoa,' " Metellus laughed.

Is Pierre any different now compared to then?

"No," Metellus said without pause. "He's the same exact guy. Literally, the same exact guy.

"No matter what, whatever it was, you could just tell that was a guy who was always about his business," Metellus explained. "To be 30 years old and still progressing and still hitting your peak as an NFL player, I think just goes to how professional he is about his business and handling his stuff."

Powell agreed wholeheartedly.

"We had one conversation where it was like his time's going to come and that was the year where he played a lot [on defense] in Pittsburgh and he started to go ball," Powell shared. "And it was like that was no surprise to me because Jamie's a dawg, man. He don't care where and he don't care who he's going against. He's going to treat it all the same, like, he's a dawg. He don't care. And it's good to see it's paying off now. Exactly what he said he was going to do — he's actually doing it.

"He was always making plays on special teams, and I was a special teamer, so I was always wishing I could have Jamie come block for me while I was doing punt return," Powell continued. "And to see where he's at now, it's crazy. I already got my 23 jersey and I'm going to come up there for that Dolphins game and see him play because that's one of my goals now, to go see all my boys play, live in person as a fan, instead of being on the sidelines playing against them."

Or, playing with them.

Although the age gap prevented Pierre and Powell from playing on the same youth team, they haunted opponents in high school. 'B.P.' primarily played running back and was a Top 300 recruit in the nation who averaged close to 10 yards per carry as a senior. No matter if referred to as Jamie (what Powell calls him) or Whoa (what Metellus called him and has been overheard in the Vikings locker room), Pierre put receivers in a vice grip and initially committed to take his talents to Miami.

"We had a lot of fun," Powell reminisced.

"I'll never forget," he added, recalling his days playing alongside Jamie on the Deerfield Beach Bucks. "I caught an interception and I pitched it back to him, and he took it in for a touchdown."

Amazingly, Pierre said he contemplated quitting football altogether at one point in his life. He credited a teacher for realizing his potential and encouraging him to move in the right direction.

That person was Brandon's father, Brian.

"He was like 'Oh no, we're not doing this. I'm signing you up for football,' " he reflected. "It started from that — Brandon Powell's dad was like, 'You're playing football. You're sticking to the script.' "

Brian Powell's interest made Pierre feel like he had somebody in his corner about football, without his dad who passed away, while his mom was caring for every other aspect of her son's wellbeing.

"My mom wasn't too much on me about football," Pierre said. "She was on me about life."

Pierre stayed local for college and made a name for himself at Florida Atlantic University. From 2017-19, his production for the Owls grew, and so did his knowledge of what the NFL demanded.

Thanks in good part to Monte Kiffin.

The late Vikings defensive coordinator (1991) and linebackers coach (1986-89, 1992-94) — Kiffin also spent a portion of the 1964 offseason as a player in the organization — was a defensive assistant on his son Lane's staff at FAU for the entirety of Pierre's time there. He was Pierre's "guy."

"He just gave me all the confidence in myself," Pierre shared. "And just being around Lane Kiffin, Chris Kiffin [and Monte], those guys are great at what they know, like, how to attack schemes. I got to be around them and just learn more about football and what the next level expects."

Metellus and Pierre, obviously, went separate ways after high school. But they rekindled their friendship at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine, and they were able to pick right up this season.

"We ended up coming into the league the same year, and we just always stayed in touch about each other's journeys because we kind of grew up on that same path," Metellus noted. "When we played the Steelers in 2021, we swapped jerseys. I have his Steelers 42 jersey hanging in my house."

The Vikings captain was complimentary about his old and new teammate.

"We love guys who are tough, smart, and love football, and he's all three of those things," Metellus said. "Tough, for sure. He has that special teams dawg mentality. He fits this defense very well — aggressive corner, doesn't need much [help]. He knows how to play ball. [He's] just a ball player."

The links were quantifiable when Pierre opted to sign with Minnesota, and they stretched beyond his youth, to boot. He spent one year observing Flores' style when he was the Steelers linebackers coach and senior defensive assistant in 2022. Pierre also was under Pittsburgh's former defensive backs coach and Vikings Defensive Passing Game Coordinator Gerald Alexander in 2022-23, and 2025 when he made five starts and limited passers to a 42.9% completion rate in his 'No Fly Zone.'

"The one thing that I continually remember about him is his journey and his competitiveness," Alexander said. "He was somewhat of an afterthought on defense, and it got to the point where, in my time in Pittsburgh, he became a pivotal figure for us. And so that's just a testament to him. And just getting a chance to be around him long enough, I respect his journey and his competitiveness.

"He was always the example of how it is in the business and the journeys that people take to give themselves opportunity," Alexander continued. "[Mike] Tomlin used to always talk about, 'Hey, I'll never ask you to be patient, but I'll ask you to work your tail off while you wait for your opportunity.'"

Alexander labeled Pierre "the epitome" of that frame of mind, so spot on that he became an example for the team to follow. His preparedness riding a non-linear track highlighted his intangibles.

"It was such an educational visual for everybody involved in the building — players, coaches, guys who stick at it, guys who are competitive, guys who just own their role and pour into it. They earn their opportunities as they go," said Alexander, adding he knew right away Pierre was someone he wanted in Minnesota's secondary after he was hired in January and Pierre hit free agency in March.

Like with any player in a new system, there's going to be techniques to tighten and moments to learn from. Pierre's evaluation was streamlined, though, by the people aware of his personality.

"I know exactly who James Pierre is," Alexander remembered thinking, "and Flo' stood [by me]."

"We just saw the talent," Flores said of Pierre catching his attention in Pittsburgh.

Flo' touted Pierre's willingness to tackle, and guard receivers on offense or returners on special teams. He described Pierre as "super competitive," and said, "Once you start putting those traits or those pieces of the evaluation together, you start to think, 'Well, why can't this guy play defense?' "

He has so far in various packages — about 25 snaps per game — and he's performed at a high level.

"He's someone that I've always thought if given an opportunity would take advantage of it," Flores shared. "He showed that last year (on the Steelers), and he's been very good for us so far this year."

The results say a lot, and so do the high opinions of the close ties who are attuned to Pierre.

"One thing that I will say is he's continued to be himself," Alexander noted. "He's a very authentic guy. He's very confident. He fits in well with people. Again, I think everybody in this line of work can respect a competitor, and I think that is very evident when you see how he goes about his business, whether it be on the defensive side, whether it be his value on special teams, how attentive he is.

"Even being an experienced guy that's had some recent success, you see that he's still diligent about his work and how he prepares and how professional he is and how competitive he is, which ultimately shows up in the stadium," Alexander added. "And then guys continue to trust [in him] with their experience with him. So, it's been a seamless transition really for all of us. But it's no different than what I envisioned when he became available. It's like, 'Hey, we want to get this guy. Here are the reasons why' — even though there might be other talent that is able to be acquired."

Special Teams Coordinator Matt Daniels glowed about Pierre's third-phase makeup.

"It's never a situation where you have to go and beg this player or plead to this player [to fill in]," he said. "It's almost as if he's approaching me before I'm able to come to him, because he has a special love for special teams and wants to do any and everything that he can for his teammates and his team.

"I just love the versatility that this guy provides," Daniels continued. "He does a great job of tackling in space [and] plays with physicality."

When decision time arrived, the strength of existing relationships, like in any business, eased everyone's minds. Pierre didn't have to be sold, really. He said he bought into this Vikings defense.

"Everybody talks about it," he grinned. "The whole world is talking about it."

When Powell found out, Pierre's backyard football pal felt convicted: Jamie's a perfect match.

"Flo' loves dawgs. He loves to be aggressive. He likes physical players. He likes people that don't back down — you [can] tell by the way the defense plays," Powell said. "Once I saw Jamie sign, I was like, 'Man, I know that's going to be the spot for him because Flo' loves those Patriots-type players where it's like, man, they're not big names or nothing. They just come out and they play. They just go let loose.' And that's the type of person Jamie is — he don't care about nothing."

Apart from getting the job done.

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