It’s now eight games for Cleveland Browns star edge rusher Jared Verse, who we can call a star because he came in with two Pro Bowl selections in his first two seasons in the NFL, and still no sacks. Whatever can be said by Browns position coaches and coordinators about Verse’s overall impact, about his style of play, about his ability to affect the way offenses attack the defensive front, the fact is, Verse is an edge rusher and edge rushers are supposed to sack quarterbacks. For the Browns, Verse has been like a home-run hitter who is batting .300–that’s nice, but you’re here for the longballs.
It makes things more difficult that Verse came on board as the only player coming to Cleveland in the trade for one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history, Myles Garrett. We are just 11 months removed from Garrett setting the single-season sack record in a Browns uniform, and just five months removed from the stunning trade that sent him to the Rams, along with a first, second and third-round pick. One of Verse’s saving graces is that Garrett’s knee injury has KO’d him thus far this season, so Browns fans can’t look angrily at what’s happening in LA.
Still, the comparisons are there, and the more Verse struggles, the more concern there is over whether he’ll ever be the player the Browns thought they were getting.
Todd Monken: Jarred Verse ‘Just Loves to Work’
Browns coach Todd Monken has, like the rest of the team’s coaches, tried to take some pressure off of Verse. He was asked about Verse’s ongoing sack drought, and the fact that he generated just one pressure in the past two games, and Monken defended Verse, suggesting the adjustment from a 3-4 to a 4-3 defense is ongoing.
The coach said: “I think it is too early to say anything. I love the way Jared works every day since he has come here, he is like all of our guys, he just loves to work. He likes being on the field and practicing. And I think it’s a matter of adapting to our style, which is not similar to what he was doing with the Rams, an attack style that I think it is just a matter of time before he gets comfortable with what we’re doing defensively.”
Browns Avoid Myles Garrett Comparison
Monken knows it’s inevitable that Verse will be compared to Garrett. But he told Browns reporters that’s not how the team sees it.
Said Monken: “It’s unfair to compare him to Myles Garrett, I think that’s always been unfair. Myles is in an elite category of his own, and that’s Ok, that’s who he is. We just need Jared to be the best version of Jared. I think we are going to continue to see growth there.
“What will help us is being ahead in games, force people to throw it and I think you’ll see his sacks start to pile up.”
Browns’ Todd Monken Defends Struggling Star Amid Drought