Rams Select DE Jared Verse At No. 19

The Rams’ first Day 1 selection in the Sean McVay era is in. Los Angeles has chosen Florida State edge rusher Jared Verse at the No. 19 spot. As pass rushers are starting to fly off the board, the Rams get their guy out of Tallahassee.

Rumored to be eyeing a move into the top 10, the Rams instead stood pat. This is their first Round 1 selection of the Sean McVay era, with the team having famously traded away its past seven first-round choices. With a major change taking place along Los Angeles’ defensive front this offseason, a move for a pass rusher makes sense.

Verse began his college career at FCS Albany as a zero-star recruit coming out of high school. He turned zero FBS offers into a transfer opportunity after leading the Great Danes in sacks with 10.5 and transferred to Florida State in 2022. In both years with the Seminoles, Verse led the team in sacks and finished with first-team All-ACC honors. When playing FBS opponents, Verse racked up 18.0 sacks and 29 tackles for loss in two years as a full-time starter.

The Rams lose a lot of sack production with the retirement of Aaron Donald. After defensive tackle Kobie Turner, who had nine sacks for Los Angeles last year, pass rushers Byron Young (8.0), Michael Hoecht (6.0), and linebacker Ernest Jones (4.5) followed for the sack lead. Verse looks to slot in as an immediate stater in LA. As a rookie, look for Verse to line up opposite Young on defense and compete for the sack lead in 2024.

Verse continues a tradition of professional pass rusher production out of Tallahassee. Though not always to stellar results, since 2013, the Seminoles have sent Bjorn Werner (24th overall in 2013), Mario Edwards (35th overall in 2015), DeMarcus Walker (51st overall in 2017), Josh Sweat (130th overall in 2018), Brian Burns (16th overall in 2019), Janarius Robinson (134th overall in 2021), Joshua Kaindoh (144th overall in 2021), and Jermaine Johnson (26th overall in 2022) to the NFL.

Ely Allen contributed to this post.