Jared Verse is wearing a different uniform now, but for the Jacksonville Jaguars, the problem looks awfully familiar.
When the Jaguars open Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns on Sept. 13, the pass rusher who already gave them fits last season will be back in front of them - only this time he’ll be lined up for Cleveland after being traded from the Los Angeles Rams.
Verse’s numbers in his two seasons with the Rams were loud enough on their own: 12 sacks and 124 tackles. The Browns landed him in a deal that sent Myles Garrett, the NFL’s current best defensive player, to Los Angeles along with first-, second- and third-round draft picks.
That trade doesn’t change what Jacksonville is walking into. Verse was a major headache in the Rams’ 35-7 win over the Jaguars last October in London, and Jaguars coach Liam Coen knows exactly why.
“He’s got a relentless motor,” Jaguars coach Liam Coen said. “He’s wiry in his physicality. He’s strong and rocked up and all that, but he’s rangy and slippery in ways.”
In that game, the Times-Union charted 53 defensive snaps for Verse. He lined up 48 times against the offensive tackle, mostly then-left tackle Walker Little, and also worked twice between the tackle and guard, once over the guard and, on two third downs, off the ball across from center Robert Hainsey.
Verse was credited with eight “factor” snaps, meaning he either made the tackle or helped set it up. He opened with a clean-up sack, added three solo pressures against Little and got another pressure by using a bull rush against then-right tackle and now-left tackle Anton Harrison, who slipped on the Wembley Stadium turf. In all, Verse finished with five pressures, one knockdown and one sack.
The Jaguars did what they could to slow him down. They used nine double teams, pairing Little with left guard Ezra Cleveland, and added more than 10 chip blocks from tight end Hunter Long and running backs LeQuint Allen Jr. and Travis Etienne.
Even with all that attention, Verse kept showing up in the playbook as a problem.
Jacksonville’s line will also look different this time around. The Jaguars are set to have a new left tackle in Harrison, a new left guard in rookie Emmanuel Pregnon, a new right guard in Cleveland after his move from left guard, and a new right tackle in Little - unless Cole Van Lanen is active and starts after not taking any team practice snaps in training camp.
What Cleveland asks Verse to do on defense is still a mystery. New Browns defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg used him for only three preseason snaps, all of them at right defensive end against Chicago. But on third downs, Verse could pop up in different spots and hunt for the best one-on-one matchup.
That versatility has been part of his rise all along. Verse began at FCS Albany before transferring to Florida State for his final two college seasons, where he put together 18 sacks and 89 tackles in 25 games. That stretch made him the No. 19 overall pick by the Rams.
“You can tell he understands the game of football,” Coen said. “He definitely makes a lot of things challenging, whether it’s in pass protection or in the run game that you have to have a plan for. He’s taken on a mindset to let it up and be a guy up front that leads the way.”
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