© Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
Seattle Seahawks 2024 Draft Profile: Jared Verse
Dominating ACC competition upon arrival at Florida State, Jared Verse has transformed from lightly recruited FCS signee into a potential top-10 pick and looks to be on the Seattle Seahawks radar.
With the 2024 NFL Draft set to kick off in Detroit on Thursday, April 25, the Seattle Seahawks will look to infuse their roster with young talent as they embark on a new era under coach Mike Macdonald, starting with the 16th overall pick in the first round.
Over the next month leading up to draft weekend, I will be dishing out in-depth profiles on numerous prospects who could be targets on Seattle's big board, including prospect background, strengths, weaknesses, and potential fit on Macdonald's squad.
Up next in this year's scouting series, the Seahawks have three former second-round picks on their roster at outside linebacker/edge and also invested a lucrative extension in Uchenna Nwosu. Could a blue chip prospect of Jared Verse's talent be too good to pass up if available in the first round?
Dominating ACC competition upon arrival in Tallahassee, Jared Verse has transformed from lightly recruited FCS signee into a top-10 talent heading into the 2024 NFL Draft.
Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
Background: Lightly recruited out of Central Columbia High School in Pennsylvania, Verse committed to play tight end for FCS program Albany and redshirted his first season on campus. With the Great Danes not playing in 2020 due to COVID, he hit the weight room and packed on 40 pounds, transitioning to defensive end and emerging as a viable NFL prospect with 9.5 sacks in 2021. Jumping into the transfer portal, he didn't skip a beat after going to Florida State and facing off far superior ACC competition, nearly hitting double digit sacks and earning First-Team All-ACC honors. Named a Second-Team All-American in his final season with the Seminoles, he recorded nine sacks and 12 tackles for loss to help the program finish undefeated in the regular season.
Strengths: Built with a muscular 254-pound frame, Verse rockets off the line of scrimmage with a lightning quick first step and bad intentions, allowing him to threaten tackles quickly as a speed rusher upfield and set up an array of quality counter moves if needed. Opposing blockers struggled to keep him from away from the quarterback, as he amassed 62 pressures with elite burst out of a three-point stance or as a standup edge and often turned to a fluid, highly effective swim move to collapse the pocket.
A technician at setting up his bevy of rush counters, Verse frequently takes advantage tackles overcompensating for his explosiveness in their pass sets, with a tenacious bull rush transforming speed into unrelenting power sending many blockers onto their backside over the past two seasons. In addition, Verse is well-versed in swipe moves and has started to develop an effective spin move, giving him an extensive pallet of off-speed pitches in his arsenal.
Playing with quality pad level and superb football acumen, Verse made a living discarding blocks at the point of attack and splitting gaps to stack up hotel reward points residing in opposing backfields. Unlike many other edge defenders at his size, the Seminoles didn't have to rotate him out of the lineup in short yardage and goal line situations, as he excelled at getting his hands onto blockers first and used his combination of raw power and dexterity to come free and make plays against the run.
Adept at getting to the quarterback on twists and stunts, Verse consistently demonstrated the ability to be able to win one-on-ones matched against guards and centers looping back inside. While he won't slide inside often to play 3-tech at his size, coordinators will have some flexibility moving him after the snap to create mismatches and let him go to work with his plus-athleticism and physicality.
Weaknesses: While Verse's quickness and footwork helped mitigate length concerns in college, he may have a tougher time creating separation against blockers with 33 1/2-inch arms at the next level. When he wasn't able to connect with a powerful strike off the snap, stronger blockers were able to capitalize on his smaller frame by knocking him off the ball or sealing him away from designed runs, particularly late in games when he wore down.
For as productive as Verse was throughout his collegiate career at two programs, he left quite a few plays on the field, often playing too fast and not breaking down to make tackles, leaving him in poor position and lunging for ball carriers. In four seasons, per Pro Football Focus, he missed a startling 23.4 percent of his tackle attempts, including nearly 30 percent in 2022 for Florida State. A figure anything close to that won't cut it in the NFL.
Fit in Seattle: With Nwosu returning from a torn pectoral muscle alongside Boye Mafe, Darrell Taylor, and Derick Hall, the Seahawks have a solid combination of proven experience and upside in their stable of edge defenders, making it far from the biggest need on the roster. But with Taylor having just one year left on his contract and Hall coming off a quiet rookie season, general manager John Schneider has been taking a close look at top-tier edge defenders, likely due to the stunning drop off once Nwosu went down last year.
In the case of Verse, if Seattle truly wants to pick the best player available in the first round rather than lean too heavily on needs, few prospects offer more polish in this year's draft class and he has the goods to develop into a perennial All-Pro caliber player. After hosting him for one of their official top-30 visits earlier this month, it wouldn't be a surprise if he's near the top of the team's big board and would be strongly considered if still available at pick No. 16.
Due to his polished skill set as a pass rusher and run defender, the chances of Verse falling outside of the top 10 picks may be slim, but if he does slip into the middle of the round, he would be a perfect fit as an outside linebacker in a hybrid 3-4 scheme such as the one Macdonald deploys.
