Reigning DROY’s sack conversion rate wasn’t elite during freshman campaign
Jared Verse was a revelation for the Los Angeles Rams during his rookie season, en route to Defensive Rookie of the Year honors. While Verse excelled at making opposing quarterbacks uncomfortable, he struggled in bringing them to the ground.
In honor of Friday the 13th, NFL writer Kevin Patra dropped some “bad luck” stats from the league’s “unluckiest players” from 2024, with Verse among them. Patra dove into the most significant area where Verse’s pass rushing luck ran out:
“The Defensive Rookie of the Year ranked fourth in the NFL in pressures with 76, per Next Gen Stats, but tied for 95th in sacks (4.5). The 5.9% sack conversion rate (4.5 sacks on 76 pressures) ranked lowest in the NFL among 72 edge rushers with 250-plus pass rush snaps in 2024.”
Either Verse walked under one ladder too many or crossed paths with an army of black cats, but this was a puzzling stat for sure. Racking up high sack totals typically wins hardware in the NFL, and yet, the Florida State product managed to win DROY honors anyway. And he is apparently unlucky?
Verse ranked fourth across the league in pressures, and all other members of the top five in that category had double-digit sacks.
1. Bengals’ Trey Hendrickson: 92 pressures, 17.5 sacks
2. Texans’ Danielle Hunter: 90 pressures, 12.0 sacks
3. Browns’ Myles Garrett: 84 pressures, 14.0 sacks
4. Verse: 76 pressures, 4.5 sacks
5. Cowboys’ Micah Parsons: 75 pressures, 12.0 sacks
The good thing is that Verse is already aware he must improve ahead of his sophomore campaign. Earlier this month, he talked to Rams.com staff writer Stu Jackson about how many sacks he missed out on. Later, Verse told Adam Schefter he felt like he had missed out on 10 sacks because of the mistakes he’d seen on tape.
Not even two years in and Verse enters 2025 as one of the sport’s top game wreckers. If his preparation leads to improved totals this season, he will become a perennial double-digit sack master in no time.