Every year, you'll always have your group of players who had a pretty unique path to get to the NFL, and in 2024, you can throw a guy like Jared Verse right in there. After redshirting his first year at the University of Albany, the Dayton, Ohio native laid waste to FCS schools over the next two years, putting up 13.5 sacks and 21.5 tackles for loss in just 15 games the next two years.
After a successful Redshirt sophomore campaign, Verse moved on to the FBS ranks with Florida State. Not only did he not struggle against better competition, he got better against the ACC's best. In back-to-back seasons, Verse twice made First-Team All-ACC and was a First-Team All-American, with 18 total sacks to his name. The funny thing, as well, is that Verse could've left Florida State after last year and probably have been a top-10 pick. Despite that, his standing is perhaps higher, but he may not go as high as Will Anderson did a year ago. Now competing with another Alabama edge rusher, Dallas Turner, for the top billing in this class, is the Florida State product the definitive No. 1 guy?
Player Bio
Name: Jared Verse
Jersey: No. 5 (No. 96 at Albany)
Position: EDGE
School: Florida State by way of Albany
Class: Redshirt Super Junior
Height: 6'3 7/8ths"
Weight: 254 lbs
Games Watched: vs. The U and Clemson (2022), vs. LSU, The U, and Clemson (2023)
RAS Score Comp:
Player Breakdown
Pass Rush Ability (14.25/15)
As far as the raw ability to rush the quarterback, Verse is as good as anyone in this class, at the very least. He can win around the outside with speed, straight through you, or to the inside with strength. Even being a bit undersized, Verse was a handful to defend one one-on-one and consistently required chips and doubles, but being on a team like Florida State, you could only do that so much with the talent level of guys around him getting freed up, which did happen.
As far as what his best move is, Verse's speed to power transfer was horrifying, and his inside swim move was pretty good as well. On a final note, Florida State tried to get him going on stunts, but from the five games I saw, he didn't find much success.
Explosiveness (9.75/10)
This is reflected in his on-field work and testing numbers, but Verse is as explosive an athlete in this draft. His first step off the line is incredible, and he has the raw natural power to match up for it. Assuming he caught some poor tackle on the back foot, he was probably getting forklifted.
First Step (10/10)
Violent would be the best way to describe Verse's first step. His ability to close distance inside his first couple of strides was borderline unreal in spots, and that will only help him against NFL-level offensive tackles. I wasn't exactly shocked by this, looking at his 10-yard split time, but there isn't a guy who explodes off the snap like Verse in this class.
Bend (7.25/10)
His three-cone drill time ultimately reflects this well enough, but one of Verse's weaker areas is shortening his path to the quarterback when he goes the long way around. Although you saw improvement in this most recent season, he couldn't consistently sink his hips enough for my liking, and this is another area where he and Turner are drastically different. Verse should still be able to improve here, but his ceiling is ultimately limited based on his testing scores.
Hand Usage (8.5/10)
Without even above-average hand size, arm length, or wingspan, Verse's ability to hand fight is still good, and how quickly he jolts off the snap can make up for his lack of wingspan. His plus-ability on push-pull blocks demonstrates that pretty well.
Motor (9.5/10)
Verse is not only violent off the snap; he carries that intensity to the whistle. Another thing I liked, and this was also the case with Turner, is that his level of play doesn't dip in the fourth quarter. Take these two plays down here, for example. Both games are well in hand for Florida State (the first of which is Verse's last snap of said game), and Verse is still going 100 mph.
Tackling (8.5/10)
Verse would go gun-ho into tackles down by the LOS in the run game and outright miss, and I thought he could've been a tad better at bringing guys down in the open field when those opportunities presented themselves. Given his overall patience and instincts, those former instances were a bit odd, so I wouldn't say I'm too worried that he can get this out of his system sooner or later.
Strength at the LOS (9.25/10)
One of my more prominent critiques of Dallas Turner was that he didn't display a high level of play strength on tape. I had no such issues with Verse, whose raw power showed up more than enough for me to feel great about him moving forward. There's, of course, only so much he was able to do when offenses threw multiple bodies at him, but Verse can forklift tackles back into the pocket to disrupt things, pull off push-pull moves at the line to make run stops at the line, and be a physical presence off the edge.
Run Defense (9.25/10)
What immediately impressed me about Verse as a run defender was his patience. He consistently did a great job diagnosing things off the snap and reacting accordingly. This score comes down somewhat because of some previously made points, but Verse should have no problems being an immediate factor as a run defender at the next level.
Versatility (4/5)
Verse wasn't tasked with doing the extracurricular stuff Nick Saban had Dallas Turner doing at Alabama off the LOS, but as far as your typical edge rusher goes, Verse can move around pretty well. I had him down for strong and weak side snaps and even a few where he was kicked inside as a 4-Tech on passing downs. Additionally, Verse has plenty of snaps as a standup edge rusher and or with one or both hands in the dirt. He especially had some pop in his first step when lined up with both hands down. And while he primarily played on even fronts, nothing told me he couldn't be an odd-man front EDGE.
Player Summary
It's hard to learn about how Verse got to the point he's at and then look at his body of work and not be super impressed. He could've entered last year's draft, and no one would've batted an eye. Staying an extra year is certainly respectable, and he undoubtedly put up better tape than a season ago when he was already a consensus first-round guy.
Now, especially recently, Mock Drafts have begun to have Verse selected outside of the top 15 and as low as 26th to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This would be Christian Gonzalez last year all over again if teams let him slip. I could completely understand teams liking Dallas Turner more, but his range begins the moment the Falcons go on the clock, and unless they go with the Bama product, passing up on Verse would be a massive mistake. He's a borderline top-five guy in this class and should be an immediate impact guy in year one.
Rookie Projections: Defensive Rookie of the Year Contender
Third-Year Projections: Pro Bowl Caliber EDGE
Final Grade (90.25/100): Top 10 Talent
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