Jared Verse was not the first defensive player taken, but the Rams first-rounder is one of the early favorites to be the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2024.
In a piece polling 12 different NFL analysts at ESPN, Verse was the choice of five of the experts as the top candidate to win the defensive rookie honor. Their rationale for choosing Verse over Eagles CB Quinyon Mitchell, Seahawks DT Byron Mitchell and others was pretty straightforward. From Aaron Schatz,
Four of the past five DPOY awards have gone to edge rushers, and Verse seems likely to get the most playing time of the top three edge rushers from this year’s draft.
Stephania Bell also sees a great opportunity for Verse with the Aaron Donald-less Rams,
Verse comes ready-made to slot right into the Rams’ front seven. He is talented and powerful, and the Rams’ defense needed an edge rusher who could make an immediate impact. Verse recorded a team-leading 18 sacks and 83 pressures in the past two seasons at Florida State.
Texans EDGE Will Anderson captured the Defensive Rookie of the Year award in 2023 after bagging seven sacks in 15 games for Houston.