Verse: season 2

From bull to blur: Jared Verse sharpens power, adds speed to his rush ahead of Year 2

Wyatt Miller

https://www.therams.com/news/jared-verse-offseason-work-improved-bull-rush-adds-speed-rush-counters-versatility

Too many bull rushes.

That thought ran repeatedly through the mind of Rams outside linebacker Jared Verse as he rewatched every snap from his rookie year. Former NFL and Florida State defensive lineman Corey Simon told Verse to review not just the good or the bad plays, but everything. And so he did, three or four times.

As he watched, Verse saw his bread and butter start to stale. Opposing offensive linemen knew what to expect from him. Regardless, they couldn’t always stop it, but that self-critique sparked an offseason mission to diversify his pass rush.

Throughout OTAs and training camp this year, Verse said he only used 10-15 power moves out of hundreds of live reps so he could commit to mastering a new speed rush and employing a variety of counters that he didn’t use enough (or at all) in 2024.

“That’s what we’ve tried to hit on with him, trying some different stuff to continue to get his arsenal better,” said defensive coordinator Chris Shula.

Verse is “more confident” in his ability to implement speed rushes on game days after spending the spring and summer refining it. “That’s going to be something dangerous,” he told theRams.com.

“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.

According to Next Gen Stats, Verse hit 21.6 and 21.48 miles per hour, respectively, in the Rams’ divisional round loss to the Eagles while chasing down running back Saquon Barkley on two separate occasions. Those were the fifth and third-fastest speeds for a defensive lineman or linebacker in 2024. So, yeah, using that speed more off the line of scrimmage could be beneficial.

One might think a player with that skill set who ranked fourth in the regular season with 77 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, wouldn’t have many shortcomings. Verse disagrees. He wasn’t satisfied with his Defensive Rookie of the Year campaign, saying he left around 10 sacks on the field after finishing with 6.5 (including the postseason).

Earlier this offseason, Verse pointed to last year’s Week 14 matchup against the Bills as his biggest disappointment, one that opened his eyes to weaknesses in his game. Buffalo offensive tackle Dion Dawkins kept chopping his hands down to diminish the power of his bull rush, which made him realize that he needed to add a consistent speed rush.

“At the end of the day, I’m faster than you,” Verse said on the Rich Eisen Show. “You’re not really gonna get too much kick step that’s gonna be able to stop me.”

Before training camp, Verse spent three weeks training with defensive line coach Ed McGilvra. Two-to-three times a week, he would work out with McGilvra and other NFL pass rushers, including Rams defensive end Kobie Turner.

McGilvra has trained NFL defensive linemen for seven years, and around 50 of them currently in the league. They include elite rushers like Chargers outside linebacker Khalil Mack and even Aaron Donald, but McGilvra had never seen one quite like Verse.

“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.”

McGlivra tells all his players that they need to sharpen their best weapons first, and then worry about adding to their arsenal. So Verse hasn’t forgotten the V8 engine power that propelled him to Defensive Rookie of the Year. In fact, he’s improved upon it.

Verse’s strength was so overwhelming that McGilvra told him to lessen the impact of his hands on bull rushes. Even with a chest protector on, Verse’s initial punch was just too forceful.

“You don’t want to kill me, because then I’m not going to be able to help you anymore,” McGilvra said with a laugh. “So I had to tell Jared a couple of times, like, ‘Hey, relax man, relax.'”

That emphasis from McGilvra, while intended partially as a personal safety measure, forced Verse to stay looser with his hands. So now, when tackles try to chop them down like Dawkins did last season, Verse will be in a better position to strike back with a counter.

“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 added various new moves and developed some of his existing ones to help him come free off linemen after first contact. Now, it’s just a matter of choosing the right combination. Incessant film study and a year of NFL experience have given Verse knowledge of offensive line tendencies, aiding his ability to choose the right counter at the right moment.

“I can tell what (opposing linemen are) about to do just by the angle of his foot or, ‘Oh he’s about to jump step me because his stance is a little bit wider than what it was before,'” Verse said on the Rich Eisen Show. “… Once you know what the person in front of you is going to do, you can react to it however you want.”

When he does win a rep, McGilvra said he trained Verse to end up at the quarterback’s set point consistently, so he can turn some of his many pressures into more sacks in 2025.

Knowing what the rusher next to him is doing gives him another leg up on any given snap. Verse has always had a mental link with defensive end Braden Fiske, as they were teammates at Florida State, but now he’s developing one with Turner as well.

During last Tuesday’s practice, Verse and Turner foresaw the same advantage on the interior prior to the snap. They locked eyes, nodded at each other, and went to work on a two-man game. It was the first time he and Turner had ever implemented that wordless communication.

“It comes with time, repetition, getting to know a person,” Verse said. “It’s not just on the football field, you can just hang with somebody in a locker room all day and all that stuff, but if you don’t really get to know that person, it’s not really going to happen like that.”

Verse recognized an opportunity for his teammate and helped him take it. Instead of going in full minotaur (charging full steam ahead), he slowed down to let Turner progress through his full rush and then reacted off of that.

It resulted in a sack, or it would have if contact had been allowed, and served as a fitting metaphor for Verse’s offseason development: Sometimes, the best rush isn’t his strongest, but the one the moment calls for.