When Aaron Donald announced his retirement, the Los Angeles Rams knew they had to go and try to fill that void left behind by the eight-time All-Pro defensive lineman.
So to assist the inside presence of second-year player Kobe Turner, who played wonderfully in his rookie season in 2023, the Rams drafted a couple of Florida State defensive linemen.
First up was Jared Verse, a titanic force with wheels. The Rams took Verse at the No. 19 spot in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Verse’s buddy, Braden Fiske, was taken by the Rams at No. 39 in the second round of the same draft.

Both players have stood out for their play in the first quarter of the NFL season. Verse, in particular, has had a great four weeks. The NFL rewarded Verse for his outstanding play in September by selecting him as Rookie of the Month for defense.
Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels was named the league’s Rookie of the Month on offense. During the first month of the NFL’s 2024 season, Verse showed everyone why he was a first-round draft selection.
In the four games he played, Verse collected 19 tackles and came up with a forced fumble and a sack. He also led all rookies with five tackles for losses. With the Rams preparing to play the Green Bay Packers in Week 5, defensive coordinator Chris Shula talked about Verse’s growth as a player.
“He’s done an excellent job. He plays hard. He’s done a better job with his assignments as he goes. I think he’s continuing to have an understanding of the NFL game,” Shula said.
“Obviously, there are some different things that we’ve asked him to do as far as standing up, as far as from what he did at Florida State, and you can continue to see him getting more and more comfortable as he’s done each and every week. [He] continues to play hard and really happy to have him,” Shula added.
Of the 19 tackles he has registered, 12 were solo. Verse’s best afternoon as a pro, in terms of production, was in Arizona in Week 2 against the Cardinals. Verse recorded six solo tackles in that road game, seven altogether.
Shula talked about what Verse is learning now at the NFL level compared to what he was taught in college.
“So in college, what he did up at Florida State in the ACC is… a lot of what you see is just a lot of spread out so we call it clean edges. You’re just standing there playing over a tackle and there is not really anybody next to you. You’re not necessarily sitting over a tight end with the quarterback under center,” Shula said.

Shula continued, “He had that a lot in college where you can really only get… when that happens, really the tackle, if it’s a run, can really only go down and maybe someone could pull at you or he [the tackle] could come out at you. There are two types of blocks you can get whereas in the NFL, there are a lot of different ways that [Head Coach] Sean [McVay] and a bunch of these guys like to affect the edges.”
Rams head coach Sean McVay best describes Verse as an impact player.
“He’s a violent, physical player. He understands the game. Certain guys just have a knack for being able to show up and make plays,” McVay said earlier this season.
Lead Photo Caption: Jared Verse of the Los Angeles Rams makes a tackle against the San Francisco 49ers during an NFL game played at SoFi Stadium on Sept. 22, 2024.Photo credit: Mark Hammond/News4usonline

Dennis has covered and written about politics, crime, race, sports, and entertainment. Dennis currently covers the NFL, MLB, NBA, NCAA, and Olympic sports. Dennis is the editor of News4usonline.com and serves as the publisher of the Compton Bulletin newspaper. He earned a journalism degree from Howard University. Email Dennis at dfreeman@news4usonline.com
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