Unless you’re a quarterback stuck in a collapsing pocket, you’ll probably hear Jared Verse before you see him.
The Los Angeles Rams’ rookie linebacker already looks like one of the NFL’s next great pass rushers, just eight games into his career. But it’s not just his play on the field that stands out — his voice is hard to miss too.
Whether he’s trash-talking on the field or chatting with teammates in the locker room, Verse is always talking, and his deep, distinct voice gets everyone’s attention.
“When Jared is in the room, you know he’s in the room,” said Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula with a smile.
As the Rams (4-4) prepare to play the Miami Dolphins (2-6) on Monday night, Verse has quickly become a key player on a defense that’s still rebuilding after the retirement of Aaron Donald.
He’s already earned 3 1/2 sacks and nine tackles for loss. But these stats only tell part of the story about how disruptive Verse is on defense.
Verse was named the NFL’s defensive rookie of the month for September. In October, he topped that with 2 1/2 sacks, four tackles for loss, and nine quarterback hits in just four games.
He’s widely considered the favorite to win the NFL’s defensive rookie of the year, a title that Donald himself won a decade ago.
“I don’t care about any awards,” Verse said. “Everything will come if I do the things I need to do. … Handling success is harder. Handling failure, you can only get better. But handling success, you can only get worse. I’m just going to continue to work.”
Verse’s potential seems limitless — and whether he’s chasing quarterbacks or talking about it, everyone takes notice.
His voice, which sounds much older than his years, fills the Rams’ locker room whenever he speaks. After almost every practice, you can hear Verse arguing with his former Florida State teammate Braden Fiske, or fellow pass rushers Byron Young and Kobie Turner.
They argue about everything from video games and carpool rules to who’s the best at pickup basketball (Puka Nacua often gets involved in that discussion) or who will finish with the most sacks by the end of the season.
Verse talks just as well as he plays. In the Rams’ win over Minnesota last month, he wore a microphone, and his constant stream of insults, boasts, and jokes filled the air as he recorded 1 1/2 sacks and three quarterback hits.
“Oh, I definitely try to get in people’s heads,” Verse said. “It gives them something else to think about. That’s all it is.”
Since joining the Rams as their first first-round draft pick in eight years last spring, Verse has been a standout. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford remembers his first practices with Verse, where he was already dominating without pads on.
“I just think about Verse’s first couple of practices here in OTAs with no pads on, and he’s running over people,” Stafford said. “We were trying to teach him how to practice with our own team. The growth that he’s had has been amazing to watch and see.”
Verse grew up in a large family in Pennsylvania and learned his work ethic from his father, Eric, a former Marine. He spent three years at Albany before transferring to Florida State, where he became a top NFL prospect with two standout seasons.
Rams general manager Les Snead quickly recognized Verse’s potential and made him a top target in the draft. Snead, who appreciated Verse’s creativity and personality, was impressed with him even before they met.
“When you sit and watch football film, it’s in some version of 2-D, but there are some people who, all of a sudden … you just feel that person in some version of 3-D or 4-D,” Snead said.
“He was just one of those players that, based on combining a passion for football with this element of urgency, tenacity, physical toughness, it just seemed like he was one of those guys that likes going into that MMA fight and disrupting.”
At Florida State, Verse teamed up with Fiske, who transferred from Western Michigan. They were reunited with the Rams when Fiske was drafted in the second round, and the team hopes their chemistry can help boost the defense.
In just two drafts, the Rams have built one of the best young defensive lines in the NFL. The team’s rookies and second-year players have combined for 15 sacks this season, the most in the league. According to Pro Football Focus, Verse has 39 pressures, the most among NFL rookies. Fiske is second with 26, and no other rookie has more than 20.
“The first couple of games, it was good,” Verse said. “But now, we’re taking that step to starting to be able to call ourselves great. We’ve still got a long path to get there, a lot of steps we’ve got to take, but I think we’re taking the steps necessary.”
