Eagles are well aware of the Rams’ formidable defensive front without Aaron Donald

Johnny Wilson, the Eagles sixth-round rookie out of Florida State, isn’t the type to trash talk an opponent, especially not in practice. However, last season in college, his teammate Jared Verse elicited the fiery side in him.

On one play, the 6-foot-6, 228-pound Wilson was responsible for chip blocking Verse, the standout defensive end whom the Los Angeles Rams selected with the 19th overall pick in the draft. As Wilson attempted to block Verse, the receiver said that the 6-foot-5, 250-pound edge rusher tried to “destroy” him, resulting in a jawing match between the two teammates.

That experience confirmed what Wilson already knew about the highly-competitive Verse, a sentiment that he also applies to Braden Fiske, another former Seminole whom the Rams drafted in the second round in 2024:

“Don’t ever take one of them lightly, not even by a percent,” Wilson said Wednesday. “They’re going to bring their all every play. We’ve just got to do the same.”

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Eagles offensive linemen don’t need to hear Wilson’s advice to understand the challenge ahead of them on Sunday. They’ve drawn that same conclusion about the rookie duo on their own from watching the tape in advance of their primetime contest against the Rams. Even though the Rams defense has entered a new, Aaron Donald-less era, right tackle Lane Johnson called their defensive front one of the better groups that the Eagles will face this season.

The major difference now is that there isn’t one single star of the show. Between 2018 and 2023, Donald generated a league-high 473 pressures, according to Next Gen Stats. He led the Rams in pressure rate share in five of those six years, surpassing 20% each season. But ahead of last week’s matchup against the New England Patriots, the Rams were the only team in the NFL with four defenders who had generated at least 25 pressures (Verse, Fiske, Byron Young, and Kobie Turner).

Still, Verse is turning heads. He’s a contender for defensive rookie of the year, amassing 50 pressures, 4½ sacks, 14 quarterback hits, 42 tackles (11 tackles for a loss), and two forced fumbles in 10 games as a starter. Fiske, a defensive tackle, is right up there with him on the stat sheet with 28 pressures, five sacks, five quarterback hits, 29 tackles (six tackles for a loss), and two forced fumbles in 10 games (three starts).

“All the way across the board, they’ve been very productive pass rushing,” Johnson said. “Sacks, hurries, pressures. They do a good job running games. Rookie is a good player, both Verse and [Fiske]. [Kobie Turner]’s a good player. So they’re playing really well. Just all together.”

Of the 502 snaps that Verse has taken, he has lined up on the defensive right side of the formation on more than half of them, per Pro Football Focus. His alignments so far this season indicate that left tackle Jordan Mailata could see his fair share of the rookie defensive end on Sunday. Verse has been much more productive on the right edge, too — according to Next Gen Stats, the rookie has notched a 22.4% pressure rate and all of his sacks from that side, while generating a 13.3% pressure rate and no sacks from the opposite edge.

When speaking about Verse initially, Mailata referred to him as a second-year player. A reminder of Verse’s level of NFL experience elicited a sense of shock from the 27-year-old left tackle:

“Rookie year? [Expletive].”

According to Mailata, Verse doesn’t play like a rookie.

“When you watch the film, it’s clear that he’s very technical in his moves,” Mailata said. “He kind of likes to go to the bull rush and then you see him with a little club chop, chop-down, try to get the tackle to bend over and then swim around.

“I can watch film all day, but if I don’t do my job, if I don’t get to my spot, if I don’t try to force him in the alley that I want him to go, I’m going to be a fool. He’s going to make me look like a fool. I’ve got to give my respect to Jared and treat him like I would any other premier rusher.”

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It’s a challenge that Mailata welcomes in his second contest back from a four-game stint on injured reserve due to a hamstring ailment. While the 6-foot-8, 365-pound left tackle called his return to game action against the Washington Commanders “rusty,” he kept Jalen Hurts clean throughout the night. According to Next Gen Stats, Mailata conceded just one pressure on 34 pass-blocking snaps for a 2.9% pressure rate.

Despite missing four games this season, Mailata has allowed a 7.5% pressure rate, which is the seventh-lowest among left tackles who have taken a minimum of 150 pass-blocking snaps. If Mailata wants to continue to keep that percentage low, he emphasized the importance of being on top of his game against Verse.

“Everyone was telling me, they were like, ‘Hey, don’t sleep on him now,’” Mailata said. “I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m not stupid. I can see that.’”