Jared Verse plays like an elite rookie despite what PFF says

Jared Verse wasn’t among PFF’s top five rated players on the Rams defense this week, but that doesn’t mean Verse wasn’t among the top five defenders in the entire NFL in Week 7. According to Next Gen Stats, Verse’s pass-rush presence in LA’s win over the Raiders was not only good for a Rams player or good for a rookie, but also dominant among all edge rushers in the NFL.

Verse, who according to ESPN has the fourth-highest pass rusher win rate (27%) of ANY player this season, not just rookies, had nine pressures in Week 7 against Buffalo’s Greg Rousseau, who had 11 against the Titans. Verse’s seven pressures are also two more pressures than the four players ranked third.

In addition, verses were attributed to two strains that resulted in turnover. He is the only player in the NFL to turn two pressures into a turnover this week.

In fact, Verse is one of only three players in the entire NFL to have a game all season in which two pressures resulted in a turnover. The others would be DeMarcus Walker and Larry Ogunjobi, who both had those games in Week 1.

According to Next Gen Stats, Verse also generated nine pressures on 36 pass rushers, which is the most pressures of any rookie this season. He had four of those pressures against left tackle Kolton Miller and the seven total pressures allowed is the worst game Miller has had in 2024. Verse had a breakthrough of 0.87 seconds, which I think is good?

In other words, Jared Verse is posting stats you wouldn’t normally see from a player who went 19th overall entering his very first season.

This is where the NFL’s extremely strange 2024 draft could come into play:

The first 14 picks were all offensive Players until you get to Laiatu Latu at 15, Byron Murphy at 16, Dallas Turner at 17 and Verse at 19. Despite finishing 19th overall, Verse was the fourth defensive player not on the field. And even though he only has one sack so far, Verse generates pressure like no one else in the 2024 class. He’s still not far behind in the rookie sack lead: Latu and Jonah Elliss lead all rookies with two sacks.

Teammate Braden Fiske also has a sack and the Rams already had a bye, so they have played in fewer games.

According to JB Scott, PFF’s biggest issue with Verse was that he missed a tackle and had a coverage grade of 61.3. On how many snapshots? One.

Jared Verse just had one of the best pressure games ever any player this season (missing sacks notwithstanding), but according to PFF, his one missed tackle and one snap in coverage is enough to make him a little under center in their eyes.

The only thing Verse has in the middle is his first-round draft status. And it doesn’t look so “mediocre” anymore.