Los Angeles Rams edge rusher had a great rookie season. While he only finished with 4.5 sacks, he tallied 89 pressures and won NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and established himself as one of the best young defenders in the league.
But Verse wasn’t perfect, and he spent the 2025 offseason adding to his pass-rushing arsenal. The key element Verse looked to augment was his play style. Instead of continuously using the same bull-rush pass rush technique, Verse told Rams.com’s Wyatt Miller that he worked on utilizing his speed to change up his tactics when he tries to take down quarterbacks.
“A lot of times I don’t use my speed enough, and that’s probably the thing that’s most dangerous, besides my strength,” Verse said.
Verse worked with defensive line coach Ed McGilvra for three weeks before training camp to add to different moves. McGilvra has worked with other pass rushers like Rams defensive end Kobie Turner, ex-Rams legend Aaron Donald and Los Angeles Chargers edge rusher Khalil Mack.
McGilvra believes Verse is stronger than all of them.
“I’ll be completely honest with you… Jared might be the strongest, most powerful dude I’ve ever seen with my own two eyes,” McGilvra said. “I don’t think it’s comparable. He’s really one of one. I mean, he’s almost got the power of a three technique, but he’s got the speed and get-off and size of a defensive end.”
One of the key elements McGilvra said he needed to work on with Verse was better ways to utilize his speed. While it’s a nice skill to utilize, Verse discovered that when he focuses too much on his speed as the main tool, it’s easier for an opposing offensive lineman to deflect.
“That’s kind of what they rely on [against bull rushes] and once you kind of take away that, it becomes more so tactless,” Verse said. “I mean, they become somebody you can work off of and try to use your full toolbox.”
Verse is learning to channel the parts of his game that helped turn him into a young defense star rather than lean on them as his main feature. And if he can put it together, Verse could pose an even bigger threat to other teams in 2025.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: What Jared Verse changed about his defensive game for 2025
Reporting by Tyler Greenawalt, Rams Wire / Rams Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
