Will Jared Verse fit in the LA Rams 3-4 defensive scheme?

Jared Verse became the No. 47 FSU football player to get drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft. He's the third FSU defensive end selected in the first round since 2019. The LA Rams selected Jared Verse with the No. 19 overall selection, but I might question if it will be the right fit for Verse after what I heard from LA Rams Head Coach Sean McVay. Verse played on the EDGE in FSU's 4-3/4-2-5 defensive scheme with his hand in the dirt at 6'4" and 254 pounds. However, the Rams play in a 3-4 defensive scheme, and McVeigh mentioned Verse could play the edge or outside linebacker.

“I think that’s to be determined,” McVay said of Verse’s role. “We are going to start him out on the edge. He’ll play outside linebacker in our base defense. He’ll play end. He does have some flexibility to be able to slide and reduce down and play over a guard but I think we’ll see. We’ll get him in here and see how he adjusts.”

Georgia runs a 3-4 defense and we saw how Jermaine Johnson and Marvin Jones Jr. floundered at defensive end in that scheme. Johnson left Georgia and became an All-American defensive end at FSU. Marvin Jones Jr. has already turning heads at FSU's spring camp.

I read that outside linebackers in the Ram's defense drop in coverage about 40 percent of the time, and that would be an absolute waste of what Jared Verse does best. He has straight line speed and can track guys down from behind, but his best attribute is the combination of setting the edge in the run game and the ability to rush the passer on third down. Why would you want to put a guy that's 6'4" and nearly 260 pounds in coverage that often?

It's like telling a quarterback that's a pocket passer to become a dual-threat guy. Here's to hoping they maximize his skillset and allow him to wreck opposing offensive linemen as a defensive end.