Jared Verse: The Defensive Rookie of the Year Who Became Trade Bait for a Record-Breaking Sack Machine

June 1, 2026. The Cleveland Browns traded away the best defensive player in franchise history. In return, they got a 25-year-old they’d only faced twice.

That’s the trade that made Jared Verse a household name outside of Los Angeles. Myles Garrett, fresh off a 23-sack season and back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year buzz, was headed to the Rams. Verse — the guy L.A. drafted 19th overall in 2024 — was headed the other way, along with three future draft picks.

Here’s the thesis: Verse isn’t a throw-in. He’s a 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year, a two-time Pro Bowler already, and the centerpiece the Browns demanded before they’d even consider moving Garrett. This isn’t a bio about potential anymore. It’s a bio about a guy who just became the guy in Cleveland.

4. BIOGRAPHY DATA TABLE

5. NARRATIVE BIOGRAPHY

Early Life: A Small-Town Kid Who Didn’t Look Like a Future First-Rounder

Jared Verse’s path didn’t start in a five-star recruiting hotbed. He was born in Dayton, Ohio, then bounced to Greenville, North Carolina, before landing in Berwick, Pennsylvania for high school.

At Central Columbia, Verse split time at defensive end and tight end. He ran track. He played basketball. He was a solid four-star-caliber prospect, but nobody was writing “future top-20 pick” next to his name.

Big programs didn’t come calling. Verse enrolled at Albany, a Colonial Athletic Association school most NFL scouts don’t watch on Saturdays.

That’s where the story almost stays small. It didn’t.

The Albany Grind

Verse redshirted his true freshman year. Then he exploded. In 2021, his final season with the Great Danes, he posted 11.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks — numbers that led the conference and got him noticed by programs that actually show up on television.

He entered the transfer portal. Florida State answered.

The College Turning Point: Florida State Changes Everything

The move to Florida State is the hinge point of the entire Jared Verse story. Two seasons in Tallahassee turned a CAA standout into a first-round lock.

Across 2022 and 2023, Verse racked up 164 career tackles and 31.5 sacks between Albany and FSU, earned back-to-back First-Team All-ACC nods, and was recognized as an All-American. He credited FSU’s coaching staff — not raw physical growth — for the leap. “If you watch my Albany film vs. my Florida State film, it’s a different person,” Verse said at the combine. “Not because of anything physically, but because of the technique.”

Then came the 2024 NFL Combine, where Verse turned heads with a 4.58-second 40-yard dash, 31 bench press reps, and a 35-inch vertical at 6’4″ and 254 pounds. Only one other player in the last decade has run that fast with 33-plus inch arms and 30-plus bench reps: Myles Garrett. Nobody could’ve scripted that comparison better — two years before it would matter for very different reasons.

The Los Angeles Rams took him with the 19th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the franchise’s first first-round selection since 2016.

Dominating the NFL: Rookie of the Year, Two Pro Bowls, and a Blockbuster Trade

Verse didn’t ease into the league. He became the fourth rookie in Rams history to sack a quarterback in his debut. In Week 2 of 2024, he became the first player since Aaron Donald in 2021 to record three tackles for loss and a forced fumble in a single game.

By season’s end: 66 tackles, 4.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and the 2024 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year award. In the playoffs, he became the first rookie since Nick Bosa in 2018 to post multiple sacks in a postseason game — and scored his first career NFL touchdown on a 57-yard fumble-recovery return in a Wild Card win over Minnesota.

Year two was more of the same trajectory. Verse logged 58 tackles, 7.5 sacks, and three forced fumbles in 2025, forming one of the league’s scariest pass-rush duos alongside Byron Young. That earned him a second straight Pro Bowl selection heading into 2026.

Then, in early 2026, his rookie deal — a four-year, $15.13 million contract signed back in May 2024 — suddenly became relevant for a completely different reason.

Why Is Jared Verse Trending? The Myles Garrett Trade

Here’s the answer everyone’s searching for: on June 1, 2026, the Browns and Rams executed one of the most significant defensive trades in NFL history. Cleveland sent Myles Garrett — the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and owner of the NFL’s single-season sack record (23) — to Los Angeles.

In exchange, the Rams sent Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick, and a 2029 third-round pick to Cleveland.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported the deal came together only after the Rams repeatedly offered Garrett-for-picks packages that Cleveland rejected — until L.A. put Verse himself on the table. That’s when Cleveland listened. Browns GM Andrew Berry called Verse an essential piece of the return, calling him “a player our fan base will love.”

Verse admitted he was initially “upset” by the news, but said he’s looking forward to joining a team “that believed in me.” The trade also makes Cleveland the first franchise ever to roster back-to-back Defensive Rookies of the Year on the same roster, with Verse joining 2025 winner Carson Schwesinger.

6. SCHEMA-READY FAQ SECTION

What college did Jared Verse play for?

Jared Verse started his college career at Albany, where he spent three seasons and won CAA Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2020. He transferred to Florida State for his final two seasons (2022–2023), where he became a two-time All-American before declaring for the 2024 NFL Draft.

What team does Jared Verse play for now?

Verse plays for the Cleveland Browns as of June 1, 2026. He was traded from the Los Angeles Rams to Cleveland as the centerpiece of the deal that sent Myles Garrett to L.A., along with three future draft picks.

How fast is Jared Verse’s 40-yard dash?

Verse ran a 4.58-second 40-yard dash at the 2024 NFL Combine. Combined with his 33-plus inch arm length and 31 bench press reps, analysts noted it was the fastest 40 by anyone with that size and strength profile in a decade — second only to Myles Garrett’s 2017 combine mark.