Rams fans stunned by rival executive’s eye-popping prediction for Jared Verse

Are you ready for some football? After a long wait and an appetizer of football hopefuls competing in the 2025 NFL preseason, Los Angeles Rams fans are ready for the main course. This is the time of year that marks the return of the starters to the football field. And it's time for fans to pack the seats at SoFi Stadium and cheer on this team.

But there may be extra excitement for the fans this season, some that fans may not have had on their radar. The Athletic's Jeff Howe believes that DROY Jared Verse may upgrade to DPOY this season. Now, keep in mind, he is not shooting from the hip. Jeff Howe conducted a whirlwind tour of NFL team training camps and saw the quality of competition around the league. After all that, he named Verse in the discussion for one of the most prestigious honors in the NFL.

He is coming off a very disruptive debut in the NFL, one that was simply not reflected in his 4.5 quarterback sacks. Typically, NFL offensive coordinators simply redirect their blocking schemes to neutralize elite players. But offensive linemen will already have their hands full with DE Kobie Turner, NT Poona Ford, and DE Braden Fiske. And then there will be OLB Byron Young rushing from the opposite side.

Rams OLB Jared Verse has plenty going for him in 2025

Jared Verse was a raw rookie last season, who admittedly left plenty of unharvested quarterback sacks on the football field last season, particularly early in the year. He incensed Philadelphia Eagles fans, then entered Lincoln Field in a blizzard and sacked quarterback Jalen Hurts twice. That's virtually impossible to do, but he was powered by the shower of boos that rained down on him throughout the game.

And he just upgraded. In addition to his unstoppable bull rush, Verse has added a speed rush to his arsenal. Keep in mind that even the most battle-tested NFL offensive tackles want nothing to do with facing him on the line of scrimmage. Now, they have to guess at the right way to block him, because guessing incorrectly lets him through to the quarterback as though they are simply doormen holding the entrance wide open.

Another upgrade for the entire defense is the hire of former New England Patriots OLB Coach Drew Wilkens. He fills a role as the team's Defensive Pass Rush Coordinator, which should aid veterans in coordinating complex stunts and blitzes to thwart protection schemes and amplify the effect of an already vibrant pass rush.

Keep in mind that Verse's ability to pressure opposing quarterbacks rivaled that of seasoned elite NFL veterans. Now, he has more moves, a coordinator who is designing strategies to unleash him on unsuspecting NFL offenses. And he has a full year of NFL experience under his belt, against some of the most accomplished offensive linemen in the NFL.

NFL Defensive Player of the Year, you say? Yeah, that sounds about right As always, thanks for reading.

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