Ram Digest

Rams Film Review: What Makes Jared Verse is a Superstar

Los Angeles Rams On SI reporter Jared Feinberg combs through the All-22 coaches' film to examine the superstardom of pass rusher Jared Verse.
Jared Feinberg|
[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] Oct 19, 2025; London, United Kingdom; Los Angeles Rams linebacker Jared Verse (8) defends Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) as Jacksonville Jaguars guard Ezra Cleveland (76) blocks during the first half during a NFL International Series game at Wembley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Boyers-Reuters via Imagn Images
[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] Oct 19, 2025; London, United Kingdom; Los Angeles Rams linebacker Jared Verse (8) defends Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) as Jacksonville Jaguars guard Ezra Cleveland (76) blocks during the first half during a NFL International Series game at Wembley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Boyers-Reuters via Imagn Images | Andrew Boyers-Reuters via Imagn Images

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Los Angeles Rams

The Los Angeles Rams have budding superstars on their roster, a great sign of established talent across the board that can secure postseason aspirations and championship hopes for the foreseeable future. For any NFL franchise, cornerstone pieces at key positions such as quarterback, wide receiver, and edge rusher give increasingly higher hopes of the possibilities at hand.

In this film review, I took a look at one of the Rams' three key cornerstones, arguably one of, if not the best player on the roster, and why he is a superstar in just his second season of action.

Jared Verse is a budding superstar

Verse Ram
Oct 2, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams linebacker Jared Verse (8) reacts against the San Francisco 49ers during the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Selected in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Rams' first time in eight years selecting in this round, outside rush linebacker Jared Verse has been everything the franchise has been wanting and then some. His standout rookie season prompted him to be the Defensive Rookie of the Year recipient, and in 2025, he is looking to eventually boost that award to Defensive Player of the Year.

Verse has made his case to be a legitimate superstar in the NFL. First, we look at how he defended the run against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 6. Then, his pass rush prowess against the Jacksonville Jaguars this past weekend.

With that in mind, let's dive into the tape.

Run defense

Verse Rams
Sep 28, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (28) moves the ball against Los Angeles Rams linebacker Jared Verse (8) during the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Let's begin with this repetition in the second quarter. Baltimore shifts Derrick Henry from shotgun to pistol at the snap. Linebacker Nate Landman directs traffic from the backside defenders on the C-gap (Verse and Shaun Dolac). This is timed perfectly by Verse, who explodes through the gap and makes the stop on the stretch zone concept from the backside.

This is an outstanding play from Verse, showcasing incredible explosiveness off the ball that can overwhelm opponents.

On this next run stop, it will become one of the biggest plays from this specific play. Fourth and goal from the one-yard line at the end of the half, and all Verse does here is shrug off the pulling left guard, obliterate the fullback, and seal off any ground Henry can attack, making a significant stop and a turnover on downs. It is outstanding work from Verse, who was known as a game wrecker at Florida State during his two seasons in Tallahassee.

This play features Verse lined up from the four or four-I technique. He’s going to be double-teamed by a duo block on this zone concept. However, he latches on to the right tackle, working with the flow of the play, discards him, and makes the tackle for minimal gain.

His violent, explosive, and urgent style of play is unreal. It consistently stands out and forces opposing offenses to match his intensity and aggression.

Pass rush

Verse Rams
Sep 28, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams linebacker Jared Verse (8) forces a fumble by Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones (17) in the fourth quarter at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Onto the pass rushing ability… on the first play of the game, defensive coordinator Chris Shula has Verse lining up as a stand-up five-technique who shifts pre-snap into the B-gap, and attacks the left guard from the three-technique.

While this isn’t a true one-on-one win for Verse, he continues to fight and force the guard to reset his hands and base consistently before attacking Trevor Lawrence for the sack like he is Hugh Jackman playing the Wolverine from Deadpool and Wolverine.

For this play, Verse is at the seven-technique in a stand-up stance on third down. This is a clear sign that he’ll be pinning his ears back and will be on the attack. The Jaguars left tackle over-sets, allowing for Verse to work the outside shoulder to the middle of his chest and then attack inside with a quick double stab and swim move to garner pressure on Lawrence, forcing an incompletion into traffic.

Shula loves to mix and match his defensive linemen’s alignments up front, as we have seen a couple of times in this review. Verse is playing a slight five into a four-technique over Jacksonville’s right tackle.

One of Verse's unique aspects of his game is winning with speed-to-power, utilizing a bull rush to disrupt the pocket and attack the signal-caller, which he does here, overwhelming with raw explosion and strength at the point of attack for a quick win, but is unable to secure the sack. This pass eventually fell incomplete, but how Verse wins on most occasions is what was displayed here.

It is impossible to ignore the nature that Verse plays this game. He is a total play and game-wrecker, making standout plays that can change the trajectory of the game, doing it against the Indianapolis Colts on the strip sack of Daniel Jones in the fourth quarter, and the goal-line stop at the end of the first half against Baltimore, with more of these moments to come in Verse's career.

He may not be the NFL's sack leader (his teammate, Byron Young, is tied for that with nine sacks), but the pressures are what matter the most, where he currently sits with the fifth-most in the sport. Verse is here to be a disruptor at the highest level, and he is showing that regularly in Los Angeles as the next high-end superstar at edge rusher.

Verse Rams
Sep 21, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Rams linebacker Jared Verse (8) during warmups against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

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Jared Feinberg
JARED FEINBERG

Jared Feinberg, a native of western North Carolina, has written about NFL football for nearly a decade. He has contributed to several national outlets and is now part of our On SI team as an NFL team reporter. Jared graduated from UNC Asheville with a bachelor's degree in mass communications and later pursued his master's degree at UNC Charlotte. You can follow Jared Feinberg on Twitter at @JRodNFLDraft