NFL Draft: Florida State DE Jared Verse taken No. 19 in first round by Rams
When Jared Verse transferred to Florida State two years ago, he wanted to follow in the footsteps of Jermaine Johnson.
Verse did that on the field during the 2022 and ’23 seasons, leading the Seminoles in sacks each season, and now he has done it with his path to the next level.
Just like Johnson in the 2022 NFL Draft, Verse was selected in the first round of the 2024 Draft on Thursday night. The Florida State pass-rusher was taken with the No. 19 pick by the Los Angeles Rams.
Verse becomes the 47th first-round pick in Florida State history and the second in three years.
Rams head coach Sean McVay said Verse primarily will be an outside linebacker in their defensive scheme.
“He’s got a lot of versatility. You watch the way that he plays, he’s got great hands, he’s violent, he’s got a versatile arsenal of moves that he can activate,” McVay told reporters. “But he plays the game the way that we want it to be played. We’re looking for grown men on defense … he’s gonna make a big impact.”
It’s the culmination of a long and winding college journey for Verse, who started out as a tight end at FCS program Albany. After bulking up and switching to defensive end, Verse grabbed the attention of numerous Power 5 programs and eventually decided to transfer to Florida State.
Over the past two seasons, he has racked up 18 sacks and 29.5 tackles for loss.
Verse then cemented his status as a first-round pick by running the 40-yard dash in 4.58 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine in February.
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“You can tell he cares about football, he has fun playing football,” said Rams general manager Les Snead. “And oh, by the way, he’s pretty disruptive. Violent. You think defense, the way he plays is next to the word in the dictionary.”
With the Rams, Verse will join forces with former Florida State defensive end Keir Thomas, who is entering his third year in Los Angeles. Thomas and Johnson both played major roles in Verse’s decision to become a Seminole because they had success at FSU after starting their college careers at other schools.
As the 19th pick, Verse’s rookie contract calls for him to make a guaranteed $15.1 million over four years, with about $7.8 million coming as his signing bonus.
This is expected to be FSU’s busiest draft since 2015, when the Seminoles saw 11 players selected.
Stay connected with Warchant.com for continuing NFL Draft coverage.
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