Browns' Jared Verse reveals 'welcome to NFL moment,' discusses replacing Myles Garrett

The Los Angeles Rams made edge-rusher Jared Verse the 19th overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, and he later earned Defensive Rookie of the Year Award honors after he produced a stellar debut pro campaign. 

However, he learned during his rookie season why Trent Williams of the San Francisco 49ers is widely regarded as an all-time great left tackle.

How Jared Verse once made Trent Williams laugh

As Michael David Smith shared for Pro Football Talk, Verse spoke during a recent NFL Network appearance about the "welcome to the NFL" moment he experienced as a rookie.

"It was against Trent Williams at SoFi Stadium," Verse confirmed. "...He got to my outside shoulder, and usually if somebody gets on my outside shoulder, I’m able to just throw him off, move him out of the way, drop him to the ground. You can’t do that with Trent. I tried to move his hands, and it was like moving cinder blocks. I move his hands — chopping, doing all this stuff to get his hands off. I literally said, like, 'Trent, get off of me.' Trent’s got a deep voice. He literally just starts laughing and was like, 'You so funny, Verse.' We’re watching film the next day. My coach was like, 'Jared, you’ve got to get off this block.' I’m like, 'Coach, I tried, I don’t even know what you want me to tell you. I tried my hardest.'"

Unlike Verse's former teammates, he won't have to worry about going up against Williams unless the Cleveland Browns complete a shocking trip to the Super Bowl this coming winter. Verse was part of the package that the Rams sent to the Browns in return for superstar pass-rusher Myles Garrett in early June.

Jared Verse wants "to be the standard of defense across the nation"

Of course, Garrett set a new official single-season record of 23 sacks this past campaign. Meanwhile, Verse tallied a total of 12 sacks over the first 34 regular-season games of his career. 

Verse has admitted that he is "hyped" to begin playing in meaningful games as a member of the Cleveland defense. Per Kevin Patra of the NFL's website, Verse added during the NFL Network segment that he likes that the Browns are known to feature a "very aggressive" defense. 

"I'm here just to add my own little flavor," Verse continued. "I'm here to get in your face. I'm here to be a little bit more aggressive. I'm here to just have that statement: That's Jared Verse defense. I want that to be the standard of defense across the nation. That's Jared Verse defense. That old-school defense where you got to get nitty-gritty, and you're gonna really have to earn every yard that we play, everything you get."

If Verse can reach his desired standard, he could turn the Browns into the big winners of June's blockbuster trade a few years down the road.