2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Jared Verse

Prospect Summary:

In the new era of college football, small-school talents are getting snatched up in the transfer portal and moving onto bigger competition. Verse started his career playing for Albany, where he impressed. Verse began as an undersized player and added weight while switching from tight end to defensive end. In two seasons with Albany – 15 games -, Verse totaled 74 tackles, 21.5 tackles for a loss, 14.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. In his final season at Albany in 2021 specifically, he recorded 10 tackles for a loss, four sacks and 22 tackles. He played well against good competition that season.

Verse then transferred in 2022 to join Florida State, where he showed he has NFL talent. Verse provided a big presence for the Seminoles that season while totaling 47 tackles, 16.5 tackles for a loss and nine sacks. It was surprising when Verse decided to return to Florida State and not enter the 2023 NFL Draft. Verse then recorded 41 tackles, nine sacks and two passes batted in 2023. He was quiet in a lot of games, but had some big performances against weak opponents. Verse recorded 6.5 of his sacks against Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, and Florida.

As a pass rusher, Verse is a tough defender who shows some natural ability to get after the quarterback. Verse plays hard and has a very good motor that allows him to generate some late pressures even after being initially blocked. While he is not elite speed demon off the edge, Verse displays quickness to close and is a threat to turn the corner and have enough speed to dart by offensive tackles. Along with his speed, Verse has functional strength to shed blocks, using his hands well to break free of blocks and then having the quickness to dart away. Verse has a powerful bull rush and shows some serious speed to power. He had some impressive rushes where he burst off the line, slammed into the chest of the offensive tackle, and rolled them back to the quarterback.

Verse’s strength translates to run defense, where he can stack offensive linemen at the line of scrimmage and keep them from pushing him backward. With his active hands, Verse shows the ability to work off his blocks and make tackles out of his gap. Using his steady motor, Verse plays hard and fights to get in on tackles in the ground game. You don’t see Verse taking plays off or loafing when the play goes away from him.

For the NFL, Verse looks like an impactful edge rusher who could fit in either a 4-3 or a 3-4 defense. He can line up over either offensive tackle and should be an asset as a pass rusher and run defender. Some pro team sources are projecting Verse to be a pick in the back half of the first round during the 2024 NFL Draft. However, it would only take one team to fall in love with him to draft him a little higher.