Turf Show Times
NFL was able to look past Jared Verse’s low sack total and reward him for dominant play
Jared Verse winning Defensive Rookie of the Year at NFL Honors demonstrates:
(1) The league and media value analytics more than ever, and
(2) Sacks have become a rightfully devalued statistic
Verse was dominant all season long for the Los Angeles Rams. He accumulated 89 pressures (including playoffs), which prior to the Super Bowl is the highest total in the NFL. If you were to judge him solely by his 4.5 sacks, you’d assume he didn’t have much of an impact as a rookie.
On the other hand Braden Fiske led all rookies with 8.5 sacks. While Fiske also was a finalist for the DROY award, his play was not overall as well-rounded as his Rams rookie counterpart. Fiske struggled in run defense and finished 73rd of 79 amongst his peers on the defensive interior; meanwhile, Verse ranked 7th of all EDGE defenders (using a 50% snap count filter & according to Pro Football Focus).
This isn’t to discount Fiske’s impressive rookie contributions, it’s more to say that the Rams have a truly elite EDGE in Verse.
Individuals who are focused on outcomes (sacks) instead of process (pressures, pass rush win rate) took to social media platform X to show the world they are still stuck in the old ways. Don’t listen to them. They are telling on themselves and showing they don’t understand how to evaluate pass rush production in the modern NFL.
Don’t be like these people:
