Browns DE Jared Verse looks to find way to fill the stat sheet: 'Disappointed in myself' and 'wanting more'

The biggest offseason splash this summer had Jared Verse front and center. As the Browns traded away their future Hall of Fame defensive end, Myles Garrett, to the Los Angeles Rams, they brought in Verse as part of the deal. It's unfair to compare the two players, but in his first season in orange and brown, many hoped the young standout pass rusher would make a major impact right away.

So far, Verse's impact on the stat sheet has been minimal. That's not to say that Verse hasn't had an impact on the defense or his team, but his numbers through the first eight games of the season have left much to be desired.

Verse has yet to notch a sack this season. He's made 18 total tackles, four tackles for loss and six QB hits. The advanced stats draw even more concern.

As reported by ESPN's Daniel Oyefusi, Verse has been credited with six initial pressures, meaning he's been the first player to get to the quarterback in a pressure situation six times. Verse has a 3.3% pressure rate, which ranks 185th out of 198 qualifying players. His EDGE pass-rush win rate of 10.8% is ranked 57th out of 58 qualifying players.

Verse has struggled to produce on the field, and the numbers show it.

Coming from the Rams, who run a 3-4 defense, Verse has had to adjust to playing in the Browns' 4-3 scheme. His responsibilities and approach are different in Cleveland's system, which he's been working to learn and work through.

"It definitely changes things because you have a little bit more you have to focus on. You have to rush a little bit more as a together unit versus just winning your individual matchup. But because of that, I might have made a mistake here or there. I might have won a couple reps that honestly in a 3-4 defense, I might not have been able to dominate in. So it has its pros, has its cons, but every week I'm just trying to learn a little bit more," Verse said last week before the game against the Steelers.

But after that Steelers game, another week where Verse failed to show up on the stat sheet, the pass rusher has acknowledged that lack of production is an issue for him. It's prompted him to add moves to his bag, evolve beyond being seen as simply a power rusher and perhaps add some spin or swim moves, work on his bend and develop other attacks to get to the quarterback.

"I'd be lying to you if I said I wasn't disappointed in myself and I wasn't wanting more for myself. How much work I put into this game, I spent all off-season just working to push myself to the limit of my physical capabilities, getting stronger and faster. I've been working tons of moves to try to advance my arsenal. So I'd be lying to you if I said it wasn't disappointing or upsetting to say I'm not getting the stats or the attention I feel is deserving of the work that I put in. But at the same time, you can't do anything about it," Verse said. "Crying about it, complaining about it's not going to change anything. We're 5-3, that's a good record for what we are supposed to be. And I think we can be a lot better than that. If I look at our record, I think we should be honestly, to be quite honest, 7-1. But I think we got to keep pushing. The only thing I can do is keep struggling. Keep getting a better version of me every week."

As Verse puts in the work to improve his game with a goal of it rubbing off on the stat sheet, his coaches are supportive of the impact and success that he

been able to accumulate, which perhaps isn't as tangible as pure stats.

"For all of our players, our staff, our team, all we want is to see the guys be successful collectively. It's not just one player. It's the entire team," said defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg. "Success can come in many forms. It might come in a great edge set and forcing the ball inside. It might come in an interception. It might come because you had a good week of practice and that's a good victory for the week and you took it into the game. So we want all our guys to have a ton of success."

Now, Verse isn't hung up on the stats not being what many had hoped so far this season.

"I think I've not done myself any service in playing the way I want them. I think it's been a lot of attention that's been focused on me not doing enough on this aspect, that aspect. I don't think we've been getting enough third-and-longs for me to put myself in a position to get the stats and stuff like that. But I think stats can be rather confusing for a lot of people," he said.

Entering a new week against the Saints, who are ranked 23rd in total offense and have struggled to run the ball, which has also come with struggles protecting quarterback Tyler Shough, Verse will have another opportunity to show up in a more material way.

But while he works through some struggles, don't expect his trash-talking ways to stop anytime soon.

"The way I am, I don't think it's any secret that I like to talk. I like to attack things. I like to be verbal in the way I play and the way I talk and the way I move around and everything. If you guys haven't figured that out by now, that's on all y'all. But no, that's the way I am. I mean, obviously, I think I could have invited my teammates in on the conversation of letting them know what I was going to do, but I think that's just how I am," Verse said. I think when you make a game personal, I play a lot better personally. I learned that early on in college...When it became personal, I played a lot better because you have a stake in the game versus just a win or lose in the column or stats or anything like that. It meant a lot more for your pride."