The Los Angeles Rams have made the ir biggest splash yet in an offseason full of the m. Browns superstar edge defender Myles Garrett is headed to Los Angeles for EDGE Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick and a 2029 third-round pick.
The 30-year-old Garrett is coming off an NFL record-setting 23 sacks in 2025 — his second Defensive Player of the Year award. Before this deal, no player who had ever recorded more than 17 sacks in a season had played for a different team the following year.
It's easier to list the players with more DPOY awards than Garrett: Aaron Donald, Lawrence Taylor and J.J. Watt. That's the list. And unlike Watt, who's currently anchoring a defense near Houston, Garrett showed zero signs of slowing down last season. His worst DPOY finish over the past four years is fifth.
What the Rams gave up
Verse, 25, was the 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year. He has 12 career sacks — modest numbers, but his quick pressures and disruptive potential suggest he could reach double-digit sacks and Pro Bowl upside. The draft picks, per standard practice when a team goes all-in, should land late in the ir respective rounds.
Unless something goes unforeseeably wrong, the se are likely compensatory selections. The price tag is steep, but so is landing a generational talent.
Why it matters now
The Rams fell just short of a Super Bowl berth with a 31-27 loss to the Seahawks last year. In the ir final two games against Seattle — one that cost the m the NFC's No. 1 seed — the y allowed 6.6 and 6.1 yards per play, respectively.
The run defense couldn't get it done in the first matchup, and the pass defense got ripped to shreds in the second. With Garrett, defensive coordinator Chris Shula shouldn't need to blitz as often to generate pressure. The Rams ranked 29th in defensive success rate when blitzing last year because the ir cornerbacks couldn't hold up — hence the cornerback upgrades this offseason.
Garrett was PFF's No. 1 EDGE in 2025, posting the No. 1 pressure grade and No. 3 run-defense grade. He fixes both problems.
The human part
Here's what nobody wants to say out loud: it's an absolute travesty that the Browns paired an all-time great defender with one of the worst offenses in league history for nine season s. In Garrett's time in Cleveland, the Browns' offense finished 31st or 32nd in scoring three times.
Now he's on a team with a legit shot. The Rams also retained Chris Shula during this hiring cycle, which shouldn't be overlooked given how much his defense shapes this team's identity.
This is the first team to have both the reigning MVP and reigning Defensive Player of the Year. Super Bowl or bust, indeed.