It’s hard to imagine Jared Verse getting off to a better start than he has in the NFL. The rookie already has 4.5 sacks in nine games and is tied for third among all players with 11 tackles for a loss.
He’s only getting better, too.
His sheer dominance and power on the edge is rare, which makes it difficult to compare him to anyone currently in the league. That’s why we had to ask Andrew Whitworth – who went up against some of the best pass rushers in league history – who Verse reminds him of.
In an interview on behalf of Tide this week, Whitworth told Rams Wire that Verse is similar to Terrell Suggs, a seven-time Pro Bowler and the 2011 Defensive Player of the Year. It’s a perfect comparison, too, and not just because of their skill sets. They’re similar in their attitude and mental toughness, as well.
“He reminds me – and they’re different – but he reminds me of Terrell Suggs, honestly,” Whitworth said via phone. “Because he plays with kind of a stature and power that when he hits guys and really the attitude and smack talk and everything, like the way he talks trash, it reminds me a lot of Suggs that when he finds – if you ever watched T-Suggs play, yeah, he’s a dominant player and you don’t want to run at him, you don’t want to leave tackles one-on-one because they’ll knock him into the quarterback and he’s not just making people whiff, but he’s overpowering guys into the quarterback that when he found a fish or he found, like, ‘Uh-oh, this guy doesn’t handle it well and I’m talking trash and I’m bringing it.’ It’s like T-Suggs would have a three-sack, four-sack game. He would just dominate a guy and (Verse) has that ability.”
Any young pass rusher would probably love to be compared to a player as dominant as Suggs was during his 18-year career, so Verse should take it as a huge compliment.
Whitworth knows his stuff, too. Being in the AFC North for most of his career, he went up against Suggs often, so he fully understands the power that he brought to the field when he was rushing the quarterback.
Whitworth sees similar strength and aggression from Verse, and he’s already noticed teams adjusting to how they block the rookie – a testament to the attention he’s gotten in nine games.
“He has extremely rare power that the first time a tackle feels to him and now it’s on tape, when you get some of these guys that might take a bad set or if their feet aren’t in the ground, when he hits you, man, it’s real,” Whitworth said of Verse. “And so you better have your feet in the ground, you better have a plan. So I’m excited for him because he’s going to be able to really maximize that and then build a little stuff off of it, which can make him a special player. Already know teams are adjusting a little bit, run game, pass game, how they handle him some. And to me, that’s great. It’s awesome that he’s got that kind of respect already.”
Whitworth had a feeling Verse was going to be an immediate contributor for the Rams when he was watching him in practice this summer. He’s also been hyping him up in interviews and during his broadcast duties on Amazon Prime, to the point where he apologized to Verse for making everyone so aware of his ridiculous power.
“I got to go watch him and I’ve been to all their scrimmages and I’ve been a big fan since Day 1,” he said. “I’ve been promoting him all I can. I told him a while back, I said, ‘Listen, if guys stop your bull rush, I apologize because I can’t stop talking about how good you are so they probably know it’s coming.’
The rookie Jared Verse gets the strip sack AND recovery for the @RamsNFL!
📺: #MIAvsLAR on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/mzxFrj7ojw— NFL (@NFL) November 12, 2024
With Verse coming off the edge opposite Byron Young, and then with Braden Fiske and Kobie Turner on the interior, the Rams have built arguably the best young defensive front in the NFL.
Whitworth can’t wait to see them grow together, with all four players only being in their first or second years in the league.
“I’m excited about him. Teamed up with Byron Young and really what that group can be up front. Man, they could really be something you could build around for the future and I think that’s definitely a huge positive if I’m a Rams fan,” he said.
If Verse comes anywhere close to being the player that Suggs was, the Rams will have hit a home run with the 19th overall pick. There’s no reason to believe he can’t become as dominant a pass rusher, either.
With his combination of strength, speed and effort, the sky’s the limit.
Whitworth saw Verse firsthand on Monday night when he was at the game and tailgating before kickoff for his partnership with Tide, helping fans stay clean while eating and drinking ahead of the game.
“We went out, checked out the scene and the philosophy of it is that basically, nobody does game day like Los Angeles and nobody does cleaning like Tide, right?” Whitworth said.
“It was a cool thing to go out, give some people some Tide Pods and obviously, when you’re out there eating all the food they were getting into it and the drinks are flowing and everything else, you’re messing some clothes up, as I know well coming from Louisiana and doing some tailgates outside LSU. You just have a good time, enjoy the food and we’ll worry about the clothes later.”
