Rams OLB Jared Verse reveals his 'Welcome to the NFL' moment – and who gave it to him

It was a rookie season to remember for Los Angeles Rams edge rusher Jared Verse, who was named Defensive Rookie of the Year and selected to the Pro Bowl. He wasted no time becoming one of the best defenders on the team in just his first year, setting the bar high for the coming seasons.

He did have a “Welcome to the NFL” moment, though – as most rookies do at some point. It’s not as if he got steamrolled by a lineman or knocked on his back by a blindside block. His moment came when power met power and he lost, which almost never happens for the incredibly powerful edge rusher.

Verse talked about his “Welcome to the NFL” moment on “The Adam Schefter Podcast” this week, recalling the time 49ers left tackle Trent Williams put the clamps on him and wouldn’t let go.

“Trent Williams, I didn’t get to go against him too much but I’ll lowkey say he kind of gave me my ‘Welcome to the NFL’ moment,” Verse said when asked about which linemen were the toughest he faced.

“It wasn’t anything where I got thrown to the ground like some dudes get. I’ve always been the strongest dude around, so I’ve never had to worry about getting thrown around or this, that, the third. I do an inside move – we’re running a blitz on the outside so I'm getting into the B-gap – they run an outside zone, whoever their running back was was bouncing to the outside. I get to the B-gap, he seals me off and I'm trying to rush, I'm trying to get off the tackle. So usually, I can just lift their hands up no problem. I'm just a lot stronger than everybody. I tried to lift Trent’s hands up and they didn’t budge. They didn’t move one bit. I'm trying to move them, I'm chopping them down. I'm like, ‘Bro, let go of me!’ Trent’s got a deep voice and I'm like, ‘Trent, let go of me!’ He’s like, ‘Ha ha ha, Verse. You’re funny as hell.’”

When the Rams were watching film the next day, Verse got called out for failing to get off Williams’ block and there wasn’t much he could say besides, “I’ll be better.” He wanted to flat-out tell his coach how strong Williams is but he held back.

“The next day, we’re watching film and Coach is like, ‘Jared, you’ve got to get off this block,’” Verse recalled. “And I'm like, ‘Yeah, Coach. I’ll be better.’ I lowkey wanted to just say, ‘I tried! Like, I couldn’t! The dude’s strong!’”

Williams is an 11-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro for a reason. He’s one of the best left tackles of this generation, earning first-team All-Pro selections three times between the ages of 33 and 35 – a remarkable feat for a player his age.

Even after 14 seasons in the NFL, Williams remains a premier left tackle so it’s hardly surprising he was the one who really showed Verse that the NFL is a different animal than college.

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This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams' Jared Verse got his 'Welcome to the NFL' moment from 49ers LT