The Los Angeles Rams' season opener was Week 1 without the legendary Aaron Donald. In his absence, rookie linebacker Jared Verse had a strong NFL debut against the Detroit Lions.

Verse was drafted by the Rams in the 2024 NFL draft to help make improvements to the unit that lost its best player to retirement. The No.19 overall pick certainly showed why he was the Rams' first selection of the draft in the Sunday Night Football showdown.

After evading Lions tight end Sam La Porta and getting around offensive tackle Taylor Decker, the rookie took down quarterback Jared Goff. The move was the outside linebacker's first career sack, likely the first of many.

"(Decker) is a veteran tackle, so he has a lot of tools in his box." Verse said via the team transcript. "So I had to kind of work around them, he's a bigger guy, tall guy, a lot of weight underneath him."

Verse became the fourth Rams player in franchise history to record a sack in his first NFL game. The rookie also racked up four total tackles and two quarterback hits.

Verse ranked first among rookies in pressures (six) and pressure rate (26.1%), Verse posted the fourth-highest pressure rate out of any rookie in Week 1 since 2018.

"From the first play, I think you felt his presence as far as how heavy he is on contact, getting off blocks (and) helping make plays," said defensive coordinator Chris Shula.

According to Next Gen Stats, Verse led the game with 3.99 average yards of separation from Goff at the throw or sack point, indicating that Verse was winning a majority of his reps.

"I think everyone can see (Verse) is an electric player," Kobie Turner said. "When he hits people, you kind of feel his presence, feel his energy… It's infectious, the guys feed off of it."

There were several speculations regarding the Rams' defense after Donald announced he was retiring following the 2023 season. Additionally, once Ernest Jones was traded to the Tennessee Titans, it seemed like the unit lacked experience.

Verse was one of the young players slated to cement a new identity for the defense this season. The rookie's production against Detroit was an encouraging indication that the unit features talented, young players.

Like any true competitor, Verse is his own biggest critic.

"There's a lot of things I've got to clean up," Verse said. "(But) I feel like I had a successful first step."

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/rams/ as Rams News: Jared Verse's Performance in Week 1 Indicates Bright Future for Defense.