With Aaron Donald no longer on the roster, the Los Angeles Rams will be leaning on their young talent along the defensive line during the 2024 season.
Donald was the pillar of the defense for a decade as opposing teams were forced to double and even triple team to prevent him from wreaking havoc, but without him the Rams will need to find other ways to get after the quarterback.
Byron Young and Kobie Turner had impressive rookie seasons and are poised to take on bigger roles, but Los Angeles also flanked them with Jared Verse and Braden Fiske.
Verse, in particular, has been turning heads at OTAs and drew praise from Young, via the team’s official YouTube account:
“Watching him, the way he’s doing right now, doing way better than me last year. Coming through OTAs, he’s handling it like a pro so I can already see he’s going to be really special. That’s what I like about him.”
Young went into more detail about what he’s seen from Verse so far and how he’s made an impact on him in their short time together on the Rams:
“I’m going to start with Jared Verse. No lie, if you’ve been here so far, he’s just handling it like a pro. His get-off is insane, rushing the passer, every day just showing up, listening, being accountable. Me being a vet and him being younger, he’s listening. He’s just a guy that wants to learn.
“Every day I talk to him and that’s what I love about him. He’s a guy that’s hungry. He’s definitely hungry… I love it. I was telling coach about that the other day. He definitely brings the dog out of me. His aggression, his love for the game. Every day he comes out there, you’re going to hear him and that’s what we need. We need that spark, man. It’ll be some days, I feel like we’re starting slow but you will hear him and he will spark up the team. When they drafted him, I already knew he was like that, so I was just happy. I was like, I’ve got to come out of my shell more so he’s definitely going to have me do that.”
Even though Verse hasn’t been with the Rams for long, he’s already affecting players like Young which bodes well for his upcoming rookie year.
Rams sign Jared Verse to rookie-scale contract
Over a month after being drafted No. 19 overall, Jared Verse finally signed his rookie-scale deal with the Rams that includes a fifth-year team option.
