Bears head coach Matt Eberflus praises Los Angeles Rams first-round edge rusher leading up to Week 4 matchup

The Chicago Bears are getting set to face off against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday and for the second week in a row they'll be game planning around a top defensive rookie they got to know well during the pre-draft process.

Last week, it was Indianapolis Colts first-round pick Laiatu Latu who got the better of the Bears offense finishing with five pressures and a key strip sack late in the game.

Latu was the first defensive player selected in the 2024 NFL Draft, the fourth was Rams edge rusher Jared Verse. Both players met with the Bears during the NFL Scouting Combine and on Top-30 visits , but the team opted to take wide receiver Rome Odunze with their second draft pick in the first 10 selections.

Last week, Odunze also had his first breakout game in the NFL after recording six receptions for 112 yards and his first career touchdown. While the Bears are content with how the draft played out, they still have to face the players they could have had.

Going into this weekend's game, Bears head coach Matt Eberflus laid out what the challenges are going to be going up against Verse and the Rams defensive front.

"Verse obviously, high pick, high energy, really good run stuffer, hard to block in the run game," he said on Wednesday . "Their front stands out to me the most. The two edge rushers create some different looks. They're an odd structure team, they're getting some odd looks and different pressures, and operate out of the shell at certain times. And that's what I see overall."

Overall, it sounds similar to what Eberflus and defensive coordinator Eric Washington have been doing with mix and matching their different pass rushers, and seeing Verse thrive in that system through three games shows why the Bears liked him coming out.

"Yeah, I really liked the man. You could tell he's gonna be a good pro," Eberflus added. "He's gonna have a long career in the NFL. He will be the leader of that group and of his football team. You could definitely see that high energy, brought a lot of light to the building when he was here. High class, world class guy."

Verse's career is already off to a hot start. The Rams first-rounder ranks second among rookies in total pressures, trailing only his teammate Braden Fiske, per NGS. His 22.8 pass rush win rate also ranks second among rookies with 10+ pass rush snaps.

The Bears currently have allowed 42 pressures (T-9th-most) and 13 sacks (T-3rd-most) through the first three games. Verse is certainly a guy the team will have to be focused on going into the game after allowing Latu to wreck the game late in Week 3.

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