Will Rams' Verse Be NFL's Best Edge Rusher Next Season?

The Los Angeles Rams have to feel good about their roster heading into next season. They've made substantial upgrades at key positions, and they're expectations for next season are that they bring another championship to the city of Los Angeles.

One of the players with the brightest outlook for next season is the reigning defensive rookie of the year, Jared Verse. Verse won the DROY for the Rams, a feat that hadn't been done since Aaron Donald was a rookie.

If Verse follows in the footsteps of Donald's legacy, the Rams drafted another defensive phenom and another Hall of Fame player. Of course, nobody could replicate the success that Donald had, but Verse disrupts the offense in different ways.

His rookie year was highlighted by the amount of pressure he was able to generate for himself and his teammates. As long as he was on the field, the opposing quarterback couldn't be completely comfortable in the pocket.

Dalton Wasserman is a sports writer for Pro Football Focus, and he recently published an article where he talks about players on some NFL teams who have the potential to be the best player at their position next season. For the Rams, he thinks Verse has the potential to be the best edge rusher next season.

"Reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year Jared Verse is poised to build on his outstanding 2024 season. His 89 pressures, including the postseason, led the NFL. He was also one of just two qualified edge defenders — along with T.J. Watt — to earn at least an 80.0 grade in both run defense and pass rushing.

The only blemish on his resume was a league-high 21 missed tackles. The biggest challenge to Verse climbing to the top of the edge defender rankings isn’t talent — it’s the depth of elite competition at the position.

Myles Garrett, T.J. Watt, Aidan Hutchinson, Micah Parsons and Nick Bosa all remain perennial contenders, with several other dynamic players also in the mix. Verse is the youngest among that next wave, but the numbers suggest he may be the closest to joining the NFL’s top tier".

Verse certainly has the talent to be the best edge rusher in the NFL, but like Wasserman says, there's so much talent at the position that it may be hard to discern exactly who is the best. It'll be interesting to monitor just how he improves on his game from last season and how he develops as a leader on the field and as an anchor for their defense.