The Browns may have hit on a real difference-maker in Jared Verse, and a fresh NFL redraft only sharpens that point.
Cleveland’s recent draft work has given the organization some real momentum. The 2025 class already looks loaded with Carson Schwesinger, Harold Fannin Jr., Quinshon Judkins and Mason Graham, and there’s a chance players like Spencer Fano, KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston end up adding even more weight to that haul. The Browns still have plenty to prove, but those two draft classes could wind up looking franchise-defining.
That wasn’t the story in the years before 2025, when Cleveland’s draft results were much shakier, largely because of the Deshaun Watson trade. Even so, the Browns may have come out of the other side with one of the best players from the 2024 draft anyway, thanks to the franchise’s major decision to trade Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams on June 1.
Jared Verse was front and center in a recent CBS Sports redraft from Zachary Pereles, who slotted him No. 4 overall to the Arizona Cardinals. Pereles pointed to Arizona’s need for help off the edge, even though the Cardinals originally took Marvin Harrison Jr. He wrote:
"The Cardinals' depth chart entering the 2024 NFL Draft featured Michael Wilson coming off a decent but unspectacular rookie season and veterans Greg Dortch and Chris Moore as its top three receivers. Basically, it's easy to understand why Arizona went with Harrison, who had starred at Ohio State and was expected to be a star in the NFL right away.
But it's not like the Cardinals were loaded at edge rusher, either, and Verse has proved to be the best at that position - and arguably at any non-quarterback position - in the class. Since entering the league, Verse has the NFL's second-most quarterback hurries, third-most pressures and sixth-highest pressure rate. He's a star."
That’s exactly the kind of company Verse has put himself in. He’s only two seasons into his NFL career, but he already looks like one of the Browns’ most important defenders for the long haul. He brings pressure off the edge, holds up against the run and keeps showing up around the ball.
Last season with the Rams, Verse finished with 58 tackles and 7.5 sacks. He also posted 11 tackles for loss in each of his first two seasons, and his 2024 campaign followed his Defensive Rookie of the Year season with another strong step forward.
He’s still sharpening his pass-rush toolbox, but the raw ingredients are obvious. Verse wins with power and burst, and that mix keeps creating pressure. His hands are violent, he can drive blockers backward, and at 6-foot-4 and 260 pounds, his speed still jumps off the tape.
Pereles’ numbers back up the eye test. Verse ranked 11th out of 115 qualified edge defenders in overall grade last year, and his 38 solo tackles were fourth, according to Pro Football Focus.
He’s not Myles Garrett, and that comparison is going to hang over him for as long as he’s in Cleveland. But that doesn’t diminish what Verse brings. The Browns have a keeper, and Andrew Berry and company deserve credit for landing a young edge rusher with this kind of ceiling in the return.
At 25, Verse still looks like he’s just getting started. And as he keeps rounding out his game as a pass rusher, his numbers should only keep climbing.
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