Jared Verse's Unseen Speed Could be the Difference Against Philadelphia

The Eagles posses two very distinct speedy threats behind the line of scrimmage in Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley. While Barkley has the top speed to make defenses pay if they do not contain him at the line of scrimmage, Hurts has the agile speed that extends plays and allows him to advance the ball up field if defenders stay in coverage.

Once defenders, more importantly off-ball linebackers and defensive backs attempt to corral Hurts, Hurts simply throws the ball to the space the defender vacated and considering the talent and intelligence of AJ Brown and Devonta Smith, either man will run to the spot before the ball in thrown, leading to a completion.

The Rams have a neutralizing factor in Jared Verse and his unsung speed could chase down Barkley while forcing Hurts to either make a throw under immense duress or simply containing the Eagles star quarterback while allowing defenders to remain vigilant in coverage.

Sean McVay spoke about the speed of his star pass rusher stating “I want to know why he didn't hit 20 [mph]. No, he's a stud. I thought it was a great job. It was great by Ahkello [Witherspoon] to be able to force that. It was an excellent, relentless rush by Quentin Lake as well to kind of just disrupt the pocket. I love the athleticism to be able to pick it up. He's a stud. He probably thought he was going to do a lot cooler stuff, but that flip looked pretty cool to me. It was a huge turning point in the game. He was rolling. He's a man. We're proud of him and he's doing a great job.” That was in reference to Verse's 57-yard fumble return touchdown against Minnesota where Verse flashed an inkling of his speed in open space, something he doesn't get to do often.

McVay went on to say “I did know about that speed that he hit, which means he was dogging it on the touchdown yesterday. The guy plays so hard and that's what you like. That represents our defense as a whole. I thought it was cool for him to be able to finish that play, to get a touchdown like that. You look at the excitement and the energy that it brought to our football team and what that meant at that moment. It was a huge play. I thought he made a tremendous impact on that game yesterday. Everybody got in on the party. He got his touchdown and then everybody else got a part in those sacks.”

Verse, the expected NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year will have an opportunity to showcase his skills against the man who has the best shot of dethroning him, Eagles DB Quinyon Mitchell.

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