Tag: Jared Verse

Which Rams received votes for awards at NFL Honors?

Jared Verse won Defensive Rookie of the Year at the NFL Honors, but he wasn’t the only member of the Rams to receive votes for awards

Jared Verse was the big winner for the Los Angeles Rams at the NFL Honors show on Thursday night, taking home Defensive Rookie of the Year. He was the only player or coach to win an award this year, a well-deserved honor for the standout rookie from Florida State.

However, he wasn’t the only member of the Rams to receive votes for various awards. Sean McVay was in the hunt for Coach of the Year, Braden Fiske made a run at Defensive Rookie of the Year and Kyren Williams even got more votes for Offensive Player of the Year than Patrick Mahomes.

Here are the final voting results for each member of the Rams.

Coach of the Year

Sean McVay (9th)

1 third-place vote
1 fourth-place vote
4 fifth-place votes

McVay finished ninth in Coach of the Year voting, an award that was won by former Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell, now with the Vikings. McVay did a phenomenal job coaching this year with such a young and injury-ravaged team, but it wasn’t enough to win him the award for the second time.

Defensive Rookie of the Year

Jared Verse (1st)

37 first-place votes
10 second-place votes
2 third-place votes
1 fifth-place vote

Verse took home Defensive Rookie of the Year honors, winning the award and becoming the first Rams player to do so since Aaron Donald in 2014. He was dominant as a rookie, leading all first-year players in pressures.

Braden Fiske (3rd)

1 first-place vote
5 second-place votes
11 third-place votes
11 fourth-place votes
6 fifth-place votes

Fiske made a run at Defensive Rookie of the Year but finished third behind Verse and Quinyon Mitchell. He ended the year with 8.5 sacks to lead all NFL rookies this season.

Offensive Player of the Year

Kyren Williams (T-11)

2 fifth-place votes

Saquon Barkley ran away with Offensive Player of the Year, but Williams actually got two fifth-place votes, finishing tied for 11th in the race. He scored 16 rushing touchdowns and rushed for a career-high 1,299 yards, which earned him more votes for this award than Patrick Mahomes (1).

Watch: Aaron Donald had a cool message for Jared Verse after he won DROY

Aaron Donald congratulated Jared Verse on winning Defensive Rookie of the Year with an awesome motivational message

Aaron Donald knows what it takes to win Defensive Rookie of the Year, taking home the award in his debut season in 2014. So when he saw that fellow Rams pass rusher Jared Verse won the coveted honor on Thursday night, he had to celebrate the standout rookie.

Donald congratulated Verse on his incredible season in a video message shared by the Rams on social media, while also reminding him that the work isn’t done yet. It was a classic motivational speech by the future Hall of Famer, telling Verse how proud he is of him for the season he just put together.

“Congrats, man. Well-deserved, bro. Well-deserved,” Donald said. “Let’s keep it up. We ain’t satisfied. We still hungry, though. We going to enjoy this one, but we got a lot more to go, a lot more to accomplish, man. From individual accolades to team success, just continue to lead, continue to play.”

Despite still being one of the best defensive players in football, Donald retired after 10 seasons, so he knows how quickly a career can fly by.

“And continue to have fun doing it, man,” Donald continued. “It’s a short time you get to do this game and play this game, so take it all in and enjoy it. Much love. I’m proud of you, bro. Let’s go!”

Donald (unfortunately) doesn’t suit up on Sundays for the Rams anymore but he still remains close to the team and his excitement about Verse’s award-winning season is awesome to see.

Rams defensive lineman wins DROY

The Rams had two defenders in the top three vote getters for Defensive Rookie of the Year.

The 2024 NFL draft was absolutely loaded with defensive playmakers. On Thursday night at the NFL Honors, they handed out the Rookie of the Year Awards and had to choose among some very talented players.

On offense, Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels won the away going away after having the best rookie season of all time. But on defense, it was more contested with four players getting first-place votes. In the end, Los Angeles Rams edge defender Jared Verse beat out teammate Braden Fiske and Lions cornerback Quinyon Mitchell to get the honor.

Here is how the voting broke down for the top seven.

Jared Verse 37-10-2-0-1: 427
Quinyon Mitchell 9-23-10-1-2: 239
Braden Fiske 1-5-11-11-6: 96
Cooper DeJean 0-5-14-8-8: 91
Chop Robinson 0-4-6-16-4: 74
Edgerrin Cooper 0-1-3-4-8: 30
Tarheeb Still 1-0-3-2-4: 27

Verse started 16 of 17 games for the Rams last season. He finished with 66 total tackles, 4.5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss and forced two fumbles.

A strong case can be made that Fiske, a fellow Ram had a much better season. Fiske finished with 8.5 sacks as an interior defensive lineman and only eight starts in 2024.

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Cardinals rival has Defensive Rookie of the Year in first 1st-round pick in years

The NFC West has the reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year as the Rams nailed their first first-round pick in eight years in Jared Verse.

The NFL announced its biggest season awards on Thursday at the NFL Honors ceremony. Among the awards was the Defensive Rookie of the Year for the 2024 season.

This year’s winner was Los Angeles Rams linebacker Jared Verse. He had 4.5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, 18 quarterback hits, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

It was an impactful rookie campaign for a Rams team that made the postseason. he added two sacks in the Rams’ playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

It is a big award, but it is also significant.

Verse was the Rams’ first-round pick last year. They had not had a pick in the first round since trading up to the No. 1 overall pick in 2016 to select quarterback Jared Goff.

Verse played well in two games against the Cardinals. In two games, he had nine total tackles, three tackles for loss, a quarterback hit and a forced fumble.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

Dolphins OLB finishes 5th for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year

Two Rams and two Eagles finished ahead of Chop Robinson in the DROY race.

Miami Dolphins outside linebacker Chop Robinson finished fifth in the race for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. The award instead went to Los Angeles Rams pass rusher Jared Verse.

Robinson, 22, earned 74 votes (including four second-place votes), which was 22 short of the Rams’ Braden Fiske and 17 short of the Philadelphia Eagles’ Cooper DeJean for a spot in the top three. Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell finished second place with the top two well ahead of the rest of the field.

The Dolphins’ 2024 first-round pick had a slow start to the year and didn’t record his first career sack until November. But he was a star down the stretch with 42 quarterback pressures in his last nine games of the year.

Robinson finished the season with six sacks and eight tackles for loss. Verse had 4.5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, and earned Pro Bowl honors.

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Rams OLB Jared Verse wins 2024 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year

Jared Verse was voted the best first-year defender in the NFL, taking home AP Defensive Rookie of the Year honors

Jared Verse’s outstanding first season in the NFL has ended with the highest honor for a defensive rookie.

At the NFL Honors show on Thursday, Verse was named the 2024 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year. The Los Angeles Rams edge rusher is the first member of the franchise to win the award since Aaron Donald in 2014, and just the third player ever from the Rams to take home the honor; Isiah Robertson also won it in 1971.

Verse led all rookies with 77 total pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, recording 4.5 sacks and 18 quarterback hits in the process. He also notched 11 tackles for a loss, forced two fumbles and recovered two, not including the fumble he returned for a touchdown in the Rams’ playoff win over the Vikings.

Verse, the 19th overall pick out of Florida State, had an immediate impact for the Rams and started all but one game as a rookie. He dominated from the start with ferocious bull rushes and impressive speed around the edge, consistently disrupting opposing quarterbacks in the pocket.

His best performance came against the Eagles in the divisional round when he had two sacks and three tackles for a loss, both of which either matched or set career-highs in a single game for him.

Watch: Jared Verse was mic’d up at Pro Bowl practice and of course he talked trash

It might only be a Pro Bowl practice but Jared Verse was still talking trash on the field

The Rams’ season may be over but that’s not stopping Jared Verse from continuing to talk trash. Verse is currently in Orlando for the 2025 Pro Bowl games and he took the field on Saturday for the NFC team’s practice at Camping World Stadium.

He wore a mic and a GoPro, which took fans inside a day in the life of the (likely) Defensive Rookie of the Year. Unsurprisingly, it included some fun back-and-forth with his own teammates on the NFC squad.

Verse chopped it up Justin Jefferson, Bobby Wagner, Mike Evans, Budda Baker and Bijan Robinson, trading barbs with a few of them. He talked about his bull rush to Evans and told Robinson he would lock him up on a wheel route, which the Pro Bowl running back found hard to believe.

Robinson did give him credit where it was due, though.

“Bro, you are not getting me. I get it, bro. You’re hella athletic. You’re the best rookie D-end in the past 10 years,” he said.

Verse almost chased down Saquon Barkley twice this year and also hit more than 20 mph on his touchdown return, so we know he has wheels. Covering Robinson one-on-one is no easy task, though.

Sign us up for that matchup if it ever happens.

Watch 8 minutes of highlights from Jared Verse’s incredible rookie season

Jared Verse put together a dominant rookie season in 2024. Here are his best plays from throughout the year.

Leading up to the 2024 NFL draft, Jared Verse was viewed as a prospect who could help a team right away. When he landed with the Los Angeles Rams at No. 19 overall in the first round, the door was wide open for him to contribute from Day 1, given the team’s need for pass-rush help.

And he sure did deliver.

Not only did Verse have an instant impact, but he became the Rams’ best defender in what was a stellar rookie season. He dominated from the start, leading all NFL rookies with 77 pressures in the regular season, according to Pro Football Focus.

He finished the year with 4.5 sacks but he added two more in the playoffs and was almost unblockable at times during the season. He built a strong foundation for the rest of his career, exceeding all expectations in his rookie year.

Here’s a look at some of the Pro Bowler’s best plays from 2024.

Jared Verse and Braden Fiske are both Defensive Rookie of the Year finalists

The Rams have two players among five finalists for 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year

From Florida State to Defensive Rookie of the Year finalists, Jared Verse and Braden Fiske have had quite the run together in the last two seasons.

The NFL announced finalists for each AP award on Thursday and both of the former Seminoles are among the players up for Defensive Rookie of the Year. Verse and Fiske are joined by Eagles cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, as well as Dolphins edge rusher Chop Robinson as the finalists for the award.

Verse has been the favorite to win it for several weeks, though Quinyon Mitchell did overtake him atop the odds board for one brief moment in mid-December. Verse is expected to be announced as the Defensive Rookie of the Year at the NFL Honors show on Feb. 6.

Verse, who has already won PFWA Defensive Rookie of the Year, led all rookies with 77 pressures, 18 quarterback hits and 56 hurries. He finished the season with 4.5 sacks, adding two more in the Rams’ playoff loss to the Eagles.

Fiske had the most sacks of any rookie with 8.5, which also led the Rams this season. According to Pro Football Focus, Fiske ranked second among all rookies in the NFL with 59 pressures.

It’ll likely be Verse winning the hardware, but both rookies should be incredibly proud of the remarkable seasons they just had in Los Angeles.

Rams led NFL in PFWA All-Rookie Team selections for 2nd year in a row

No team in the NFL had more PFWA All-Rookie selections than the Rams, once again showing how great their 2024 class was

From top to bottom, it’s easy to make the case that the Los Angeles Rams’ draft class was the best of any team in 2024. Jared Verse is likely to be the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, while Beaux Limmer went from sixth-round rookie to starting center – and not out of necessity, but rather merit.

The Pro Football Writers of America gave the Rams’ class some high praise with the release of its 2024 All-Rookie Team on Tuesday, picking three players from Los Angeles to represent the Rams.

Jared Verse, who was named PFWA’s Defensive Rookie of the Year, earned a spot at linebacker. Braden Fiske, rookie leader in sacks this season, got the nod along the defensive line. And Jordan Whittington was voted the best rookie kick returner in the league by the PFWA.

The Rams’ three selections are the most of any team, showing just how great their rookie class was. It’s the second year in a row that the Rams have had the most All-Rookie selections in the league after having four players picked in 2023: Steve Avila, Puka Nacua, Kobie Turner and Byron Young.

Les Snead and Sean McVay have absolutely nailed their last two drafts, coming away with legitimate cornerstone players to build around for the next 3-4 years. With the young playmakers and defensive studs spread throughout the roster, the Rams are set up for long-term success thanks to these two classes.