Why Jared Verse's Story Suits Rams Perfectly

Two weeks after the Rams’ heartbreaking loss in the divisional playoffs, Jared Verse flew to New Orleans. He finally got his invitation from the NFL.

That invite didn’t come nine months earlier, when the league chose 13 other prospects to attend the draft in Detroit with their families, walk onto the stage and hug Commissioner Roger Goodell. Verse even purchased a custom-fitted gold Dior suit to wear that night.

“Thank you for not believing in me,” read the cursive script inside his suit’s jacket, as he flashed it to the camera at the beginning of Episode 2 in the team’s Behind the Grind series. Verse had to wait until NFL Honors on Feb. 6 to wear the suit, when he accepted the league’s Defensive Rookie of the Year award.

He may want to add an asterisk to that script inside his jacket, because Les Snead and Sean McVay believed in him. And once he arrived in Los Angeles, he earned the trust of defensive coordinator Chris Shula.

“I was never supposed to be in this position,” Verse told reporters at the 2024 scouting combine, captured by the Rams in the piece. “I wasn't even supposed to be standing here in front of you today. I was never, if you asked anybody in high school, I'm not supposed to be here today.”

He was there for the Rams at 19 overall, the first time the Rams drafted a player in the initial round since they took Jared Goff No. 1 overall in 2016. But to get there, he had to overcome steep odds.

“We weren’t five stars leaving high school,” Verse explained. “We didn't go to any big schools out of college. My only offer was from the University at Albany. And we weren’t top dogs in the country, anything like that.”

After three years at FCS-level Albany, transferring to Florida State changed his life, Verse said. While in Tallahassee from 2022-23, Verse met and played with his future Rams teammate Braden Fiske. Snead and McVay were off-the-charts excited that Verse fell to them in a unique draft, one that featured offensive players – including six quarterbacks -- over the first 14 selections.

And when the Rams had an opportunity to trade up in the second round to take Fiske, reuniting him with Verse, Snead knew a move like that was critical in replacing the retired Aaron Donald. But that was only Step 1.

“And the neat thing,” Snead said on the documentary, “hey, it's come to fruition. We picked them. We had a vision. You know what they did? They did their part. … So, when players do their part, we do our part, we're all working together. That's how the we, that's how the team, that's how the Rams get stronger.”

Verse gets stronger by simply putting in the work. He said he saw offenses shift their game plans to slow him down. And even though he didn’t dominate the boxscores, he knew he’d made a powerful impact.

“I know that the work works,” he explained. “It's hard, like don't get me wrong, like it was a long path to get here, but the work works. If you just keep stacking up days, keep working every day.

“Even without going out there and having all these stats, and going crazy with a bunch of sacks and all that stuff. I don't care if I have this stat or if I do this or do that. My goal is just to be the best version of myself and, if I do that, I can sleep peacefully at night.”

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