Rams news: Jared Verse sends surprising message to Sean McVay — ‘Put me on offense’

While Verse doesn’t have the two-way pedigree that Hunter does, Rams fans have to wonder what it would be like if Matthew Stafford had a 6-foot-4, 250-pound blocker, runner, or pass catcher alongside him in the red zone. And while a WR/CB combo like Hunter makes more sense from a wear-and-tear perspective, lining up big, hulking defensive players on offense isn’t a new concept.

In the 1980s, the Chicago Bears utilized 6-foot-2, 335-pound William “The Refrigerator” Perry as a fullback at the goal line and former New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs outside linebacker (and current Patriots head coach) Mike Vrabel caught 10 career touchdown passes as a red zone TE/FB.

So, it wouldn’t be a total shock if we got to see Jared Verse jog onto the field with Stafford and the offense this season, although as a second-year star, Sean McVay might prefer that he sticks to his natural side of the ball.

Verse, who started his college football career at SUNY Albany before transferring to Florida State, was the No. 19 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. As just the fourth defensive player selected that year, Verse lived up to the hype and put together an incredible freshman campaign. In 17 games he had 4.5 sacks, 18 QB hits, 11 tackles for a loss, and two forced fumbles.

Those stats were good enough for Verse to make the Pro Bowl in his first season and win Defensive Rookie of the Year by a relatively large margin over Philadelphia Eagles CB Quniyon Mitchell and his Rams teammate, Braden Fiske.