Jared Verse's spot on new ESPN rankings proves Rams' defense could be elite in 2025

Most of the Rams' offseason – I'd argue almost all of it, in fact – focused on the offense. Whether it was calling the Giants' (and Raiders') bluff in renegotiating a new deal for Matt Stafford, or signing Davante Adams, or trading away Jonah Jackson, the Rams' offense has felt like the focal point of the past six months.

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And while that has some fans biting their nails a little earlier than they expected to (it's only July!), maybe there's a silver lining: maybe the Rams' defense is already so good that they don't even need help? Maybe? Possibly? Whatever, I'm trying.

ESPN seems to kind of agree with me, so that's nice. This week, they put together a big list of the NFL's Top 10 pass rushers – according to anonymous team executives, coaches, and scouts – and Rams fans will be pleasantly surprised to find Jared Verse on the list. Not even honorable mention! He actually got a real blurb any everything.

The NFL doesn't quite know what to think about Jared Verse

"Verse, coming off Defensive Rookie of the Year honors, defeated Brian Burns and Nik Bonitto in a tiebreaker for the 10th spot. Verse is a tough evaluation because of his lack of production. His 4.5 sacks and 17.5% pass rush win rate are modest. He didn't appear on many ballots as a result. But this description of Verse from now-retired offensive tackle Terron Armstead is somewhat common around the league. When posing tiebreakers to league execs, the responses were swift: VERSE! Just like you can't teach height in basketball, you can't teach Verse's power. "He's a man," an NFC personnel executive said. "Very unique strength." Verse was credited with 24 incompletions and three interceptions created, both quality numbers. And his 23.3% double-team rate was fourth on this list behind greats Parsons, Garrett and Crosby. Competition at the deep NFL position is the only thing working to Verse's disadvantage. "It's not that he's not ascending into a premier rusher, but he's not ahead of some of the others who are more productive or better run players right now," said an NFC executive who doesn't think Verse should be in the top 10."

I do appreciate that ESPN is able to look past traditional prediction numbers and still give Verse credit for the playmaker that he is, even if the blurb does come across a little ... backhanded? Midwest nice? When *Terron Armstead* is afraid of you, maybe the standard-issue sack numbers don't matter quite as much.