FSU Football NFL Draft Preview: EDGE Jared Verse

Verse will more than likely be the first former Seminole to be selected.

We are one day away from the 2024 NFL Draft and as many as 13 former 'Noles have a chance to hear their name called throughout the weekend. What these articles will attempt to accomplish is catch you up on where each prospect is projected to go, which teams they've met with, measurables, and what scouts and executives have said about these players (if it's been made available). 

Jared Verse surprised people by coming back to college for another season when he likely could've been a first-round pick last year, but he wanted to win and refine his game to become a top-10 pick. After starting his career at Albany as a tight end, he moved to the other side of the ball and became a productive pass rusher, flashing enough on tape against bigger schools that he had a line waiting for him as soon as he entered the transfer portal. He chose Florida State and racked up 29.5 tackles for loss and 18 sacks in two seasons in Tallahassee, showcasing a unique blend of strength and speed. He pushed offensive tackles into quarterbacks for sacks more than once and has a larger-than-life personality, more than willing to let whoever lines up across from him to let him know about how he's playing. His age will likely hurt him as he'll turn 24 midway through his rookie season.

Measurements

Jared Verse checked into the NFL Combine at 6037 (6 feet, 3 and 7/8ths inches) and 254 pounds, a little lighter than a few were expecting. He wowed in all of the athletic testings though: 31 bench press reps, 4.58 40-yard dash, 4.44 shuttle time, 7.31 3-cone time, 35-inch vertical, and 10'7" broad jump. For someone mainly known for his power, for him to have that kind of speed as well was an eye-opener for a few teams. His relative athletic score clocked in at 9.60, an impressive score even given his lower weight.

Visits and Meetings

Verse had top-30 visits with the Atlanta Falcons, Chicago Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Seattle Seahawks, and Denver Broncos while also meeting with the Jaguars, Bengals, and Packers at the Combine.

What the Scouts are Saying

Lance Zierlein of NFL.com: "Talented edge defender with the field demeanor, athleticism and skill set to rack up statistics in key categories fairly early in his NFL career. Verse dominated at Albany and then showed an ability to do the same at Florida State. He’s twitchy and compact, with explosiveness featured at the point of attack and in his upfield burst as a pass rusher. He’s great with his hands and does a nice job of diagnosing plays quickly and staying out of the clinches of offensive linemen looking to snatch him up. Verse's ability to threaten the edge only bolsters his hellish speed-to-power bull-rushing ability to run tackles deep into the pocket. He can play up or down and should be in consideration for all defensive schemes looking to add a safe, high-impact edge."

Dane Brugler of The Athletic (paywall): "When he channels his relentless energy, Verse is as disruptive as anyone in this class, because of his explosive get-off, power through his frame and NFL-quality hand use. His physical traits and competitive football temperament give him a high floor as an NFL starter (reminiscent of eight-year NFL veteran Dante Fowler)."

Danny Kelly of The Ringer: "He explodes off the line with a well-timed first step, and uses his arms like swords, chopping away at the opponent’s hands, keeping them off his frame. Verse is a slippery rusher who plays with a relentless, tenacious style; offensive linemen really struggle to latch onto him."

Trevor Sikkema of Pro Football Focus: "Verse is a devastatingly powerful edge player who brings the
gym to the field on all three downs. After his 2020 season at Albany was canceled due to COVID-19, Verse and his father built a home gym and he put on 40 pounds in one year. He came back and was an FCS All-American. He transferred to Florida State the following season and displayed overwhelming strength against LSU in just his second game in the FBS. His speed-to-power is consistently effective. His hands are powerful and violent, and his swipes look like they hurt. His best work comes from the power he generates as a three-point defensive end."

Matt Miller of ESPN: "He is relentless with high-effort production -- Verse helped lead FSU to an undefeated regular season with nine sacks and 50 pressures. He's a plug-and-play 4-3 defensive end starter with Trey Hendrickson-like ability."

Projected Draft Range

Jared Verse is a lock to be a first-round selection, starting with the Falcons at 8 and I think the furthest he'd fall is to the Buccaneers at 26. I think he's talented enough that if he starts to fall into the late teens, I could see some of these teams in the 20s itching to trade up, whether it's Tampa, Detroit, or Arizona.

Here are the current first-round draft picks of teams mentioned with Verse: Falcons (8), Broncos (12), Seahawks (16), Buccaneers (26), Bears (9), Jaguars (17), Bengals (18), and Packers (25).

The Falcons need a lot of help along the defensive line, desperately needing someone who can impact the game like Verse. Right now their best pass rusher is... Arnold Ebiketi? Verse could be their best pass rusher right away even if I'm not convinced he's a 3-4 outside linebacker.

Chicago could use some help on the other side of the recently acquired Montez Sweat. If the top three receivers are off the board by 9, they could definitely use that pick to upgrade their defensive line.

Jacksonville would be interesting, but they just re-signed Josh Allen and have Travon Walker still on the roster who was the number one overall pick two years ago. Tampa and Seattle need pass-rush help, but we'll see if he makes it that far down the board.

We have seen it with Jermaine Johnson II a couple of drafts ago where some teams had him as a top-10 talent in the draft, but an older age caused him top drop down the board a little bit.

Prediction

Verse could go to a number of places, but I think the Los Angeles Rams at 19 is the destination garnering the most smoke for him. He could last on the board a little later than people think because of his age.

He could still go a lot higher than 19 though. The Bears at 9 would make sense to pair him with Montez Sweat, but there are not a lot of teams in the teens that need a 4-3 pass rusher. It maybe could've been the Saints at 14, but they need offensive tackle so desperately that I'm starting to doubt it'll be anything but that. The Falcons also reportedly did a lot of homework on him last year and would've been comfortable taking him at 8 last year and need a ton of help along the defensive line, they could take him at 8 this year and it wouldn't shock me.