(This post has been updated to correct a statistic)
Jared Verse isn’t going to win Defensive Player of the Year as a rookie this season, but he’s off to an unbelievable start with the Los Angeles Rams – a start that has him in the company of two legitimate contenders for the coveted award.
Through 10 games, Verse has 4.5 sacks, 42 tackles, 11 tackles for a loss and 14 quarterback hits, stuffing the stat sheet just about each and every week. Pro Football Focus has graded him highly throughout the year, ranking him as one of the better defenders in the league.
According to PFF, there are only three players in the NFL this season with grades of 80 or better as a pass rusher and run defender: Verse, T.J. Watt and Dexter Lawrence.
Verse has a pass-rush grade of 82.0 and a run-defense grade of 85.5, which rank 21st and 14th, respectively, among all defenders with at least 382 snaps.
Watt is the favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year and Lawrence is tied for the third-best odds at BetMGM. Verse predictably isn’t even in the conversation because he’s a rookie who hasn’t racked up enough sacks for legitimate consideration, but he’s as well-rounded a defender as there is right now.
Jared Verse in ELITE company 👀 pic.twitter.com/7jxz7XKknX
— PFF (@PFF) November 19, 2024
The Rams had high expectations for Verse when they drafted him 19th overall this year, but he’s been even better than anticipated through 10 games so far.
In a couple of seasons, he could be one of the top candidates to win Defensive Player of the Year the way Aaron Donald was early in his career.
