The Los Angeles Rams had a first-round pick this year for the first time since 2016 and used it to take edge rusher Jared Verse out of Florida State.
The Rams struggled to get a consistent pass rush last season and with Aaron Donald retiring, they knew that was something they needed to address. They did exactly that by drafting Verse in the first round and then his Florida State teammate Braden Fiske right behind him in the second.
Verse made his long-awaited NFL debut in the Rams’ Week 1 loss to the Detroit Lions and definitely looked the part of a first-round pick, recording four tackles, two quarterback hits and his first career sack.
Here are some of the stats and game film that jumped out from Verse’s NFL debut, where he was among the league-leaders in pressures:
NFL Week 1 pressure leaders (Next Gen Stats):
#1 Micah Parsons (9)
#2 DeMarcus Lawrence (8)
T-3 Trey Hendrickson (7)
T-3 Dexter Lawrence (7)
T-3 Boye Mafe (7)
T-6 Marcus Davenport (6)
T-6 Chase Young (6)
T-6 Aidan Hutchinson (6)
T-6 Jared Verse (6)
T-6 Marshawn Kneeland (6)— Tom Downey (@WhatGoingDowney) September 10, 2024
Big Time Debut for Jared Verse
Rank Among ALL Rookies in Week1
🐏 75.5 PFF Grade (3rd/26)
🐏 6 Total Pressures (1st)
🐏 26.1% Pressure Rate (1st)Cutup by the goat @NoFlagsFilm
pic.twitter.com/kA9qN4P6kY— Clay Fink (@clay_fink) September 9, 2024
If this is the type of production that Verse is going to provide then the Rams’ pass rush should be much-improved this season. His counterpart on the opposite edge, Byron Young, also recorded a sack, as L.A. was putting pressure on Lions quarterback Jared Goff all night.
With Verse, Fiske, Young and Kobie Turner, the Rams have a young, talented defensive line that they can build around for years to come.
The next test for Verse and the Rams’ defensive front will be a mobile quarterback as they get set to travel to take on Kyler Murray and the division-rival Arizona Cardinals in Week 2.
Sean McVay explains why Blake Corum didn’t get any snaps for Rams
One other rookie that the Rams are high on is rookie third round pick Blake Corum, although he didn’t get to show why in Week 1. Corum didn’t get a single snap at running back, and head coach Sean McVay gave an explanation after the game.
“I think each game is going to be its own entity,” McVay said. “It was a very unique circumstance because when we got so many of our [offensive] linemen banged up, it limited some of the different… basically, we didn’t operate off anything that our game plan was. We had to truly just change in the middle of that game plan.
“When there are some things that are unforeseen, you’re going to go with guys that you trust and that you know. I think the way that some of the drives unfolded where there were long breaks in between… I think that’s why you saw our running back and tight end rotation reflected as such. Colby Parkinson played 69 snaps. I believe Kyren played 71 when you look at it. I want to get Ronnie a little bit more involved. I want to be able to get Blake involved as well. Davis [Allen] and Hunter [Long] got a few snaps, but based on how the game unfolded, it was very unique for a lot of different reasons, none of which probably suit what you guys are really looking for but that was not how we anticipated the rotation to go.”
