Camp buzz is building fast around this Rans veteran for all the right reasons

The Los Angeles Rams selected a player in Round of the NFL Draft just three times in the past 10 years. In 2015, the Rams selected Georgia running back Todd Gurley with the 10th overall pick in Round 1 of the 2015 NFL Draft. The next season, the Rams selected California quarterback Jared Goff with the first overall pick in Round 1 of the 2016 NFL Draft. But it was not until the Rams stepped up to the podium on Day 1 of the 2024 NFL Draft with the 19th overall pick that the team finally addressed the need on the defensive side of the football.

And the legend of rookie outside linebacker Jared Verse began.

Had it been any other draft, Verse would never have lasted on the draft board beyond the Top 10 selections. But it was a perfect storm of abundance for wide receivers, quarterbacks, and offensive tackles that kept NFL team picking players from the offensive side of the football. It was not until the 15th overall selection was made that a defensive player came off the board.

That worked out perfectly for the Rams, allowing them to claim the top rookie defensive prospect in the draft without a need to trade up. And the Rams were proven to have selected the best defender when Jared Verse was honored with the 2024 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award.

But what about the 2025 NFL season?

The Rams defense got stronger as season wore on

Even as the NFL oohed and ahhed over Jared Verse's NFL debut, there is more to be excited about in his second season. After all, the guy just got off the bus and terrorized the NFL's best offensive tackles. Imagine the chaos and carnage that he will bring to the football field in his second NFL season.

Just so there is no confusion, Jared Verse was a rookie edge rusher on a defense with a rookie Defensive Coordinator in Chris Shula. And while we can tout the talent of players on the Rams roster, it was clear that early-season injuries consumed much of the team's coaching brainpower as the team tried to compensate for a depleted secondary.

Simultaneously, the team experimented with personnel packages, player production, and defensive strategies that would unleash the team's full defensive potential. The Rams' pass rush needed five games to reach nine quarterback sacks in 2024. The same pass rush matched that total with nine quarterback sacks against the Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card Round of the 2025 NFL Playoffs. Just to prove that it was not a one-off anomaly, the team put up seven more quarterback sacks against the Philadelphia Eagles in the Divisional Round.

Second Verse, sweeter than the first

But does that apply to Jared Verse? You bet it does. Verse recorded just 4.5 quarterback sacks in his rookie season, but recorded 2.0 quarterback sacks in his first experience in the NFL Playoffs. And then there is that massive production that he generated in his first season that led to his selection as DROY:

Second seasons are not automatically better for elite rookies. Just as the player gains experience against NFL-caliber players, those same players gain valuable experience against the Johnny-come-latelies of the NFL. And the thing is, it only takes one offensive lineman to find success at blocking Verse before other offensive linemen attempt to replicate that success with similar strategies.

But offensive tackles do not look forward to facing Verse. Former Miami Dolphins Pro Bowl OT Terron Armstead retired and was grateful that he never needed to face Rams OLB Jared Verse again. You can bet that other offensive linemen would love to retire right now simply for the same reason.

And in the offseason, Verse added to his arsenal with a speed rush to complement his universally-feared power rush. So he has added a new wrinkle to his pass rush bag of tricks to keep offensive linemen off-balance and guessing.

This will be Jared Verse's second season in Chris Shula's second year as Rams defensive coordinator. Sequels are not always able to capture the same magic as the original, but this will be the exception to the rule. Grab your popcorn, because this is going to get good very quickly.

As always, thanks for reading.