As the season progresses, it is becoming more and more clear that the Los Angeles Rams found a great defender in the 2024 Draft. Jared Verse has moved to the top of the betting odds to win Defensive Player of the Year.
This one is hard to argue with. While cornerback Quinyon Mitchell has also been impressive, the DROY voters often look to pass rushers over everything else. Going back 10 years, eight defensive linemen have been chose, including former Ram Aaron Donald.
Should The Rams Defender Be Included In The DPOY Conversation?
Verse has already proven to be the best pass rusher in the draft, by a wide margin. His 48 quarterback pressures, outpace the next-best, Braden Fiske, by 18 pressures or 62.5 more pressure. He also leads the group in sacks.
But a recent post by Pro Football Focus implies that Verse should also be included in the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year.
According to their grading, only three defenders have grades above 80 in both their pass-rushing and run-defending, which includes Verse along with two of the top three players most likely to win Defensive Player of the Year; New York Giants interior defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence (+1000) and Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher TJ Watt (-200).
When looking at their grades it is evident why Watt is the favorite. He is the only player to exceed a 90 grade in both categories. But comparing Lawrence and Verse, the gap narrows to decimal points. Lawrence has a run defense grade of 80.3, which is 5.2 points lower than Verses. When it comes to pass rush grade, Verse’s 82 is just 1.3 behind Lawrence.
Jared Verse, who is currently not even on the odds sheet, would be only the second player in league history to achieve the DROY and DPOY. Lawrence Taylor did it in 1981, with 9.5 sacks and an interception. He was 11 sacks behind the sack leader for the year but was awarded DPOY regardless.
Lawrence was chosen because of his game-wrecking ability, for Verse to do the same the voters will have to see a similar intangible quality.
