The biggest trade of the NFL offseason could also be one of the most lopsided deals in NFL history. The Los Angeles Rams acquired Myles Garrett from the Cleveland Browns, landing a pass rusher who, if he follows the same trajectory as other Hall of Fame defensive ends of his caliber, could have at least three more years remaining as an elite player. In return, the Browns received draft compensation that would barely be enough to acquire A.J. Brown, plus Jared Verse, a defensive end who will probably
be 26 years old before he reaches 20 career sacks.
Brought to you by the same organization that traded three first-round picks for Deshaun Watson and then handed him a fully guaranteed $240 million contract, the Browns may have outdone themselves by ending up on the wrong side of another franchise-defining trade.
No matter what anyone tells you about Verse, make no mistake about his worth: He is not equivalent to a first-round pick, let alone two. That means the Rams acquired the reigning Defensive Player of the Year for a package that may be less valuable than what the New York Giants received for Dexter Lawrence.
How does a trade this lopsided happen anywhere outside of Hollywood?
Browns let Myles Garrett go for way too little
The Rams traded Verse, a 2027 first, a 2028 second, and a 2029 third for Garrett. Let’s break down the value of those picks.
A first-round pick from the Rams, if the season goes as they hope it will after trading for Garrett, could be as low as 32nd overall. It would be surprising if L.A. misses the playoffs altogether, meaning that any reasonable person expects this draft pick to fall in the 20-32 range.
Realistically, blue chip prospects don’t make it out of the top-20. The Browns traded Garrett without receiving a first-round pick that would result in a blue chip prospect with a real first-round grade.
By comparison, the Giants traded Lawrence to the Bengals for the 10th overall pick. I would rather have the 10th overall pick than all the picks that L.A. sent to Cleveland combined. Jared Verse moves the needle, but we’ll get to him later.
The other picks
A 2028 second-round pick is the same as a 2027 third-round pick.
A 2029 third-round pick is the same as a 2027 fifth-round pick.
In other words:
The Rams traded a 2027 first-round pick (which could be 32nd), and picks worth roughly a third and a fifth next year, plus Verse, for MYLES GARRETT.
That makes no sense when just last year these trades happened:
- Cowboys traded Micah Parsons for two first-round picks (2026, 2027) and DT Kenny Clark
- Jets traded Sauce Gardner for two first-round picks (2026, 2027) and WR AD Mitchell
- Jets traded Quinnen Williams for a first-round pick in 2027, a second-round pick in 2026, and Mazi Smith
You could make a compelling case that what the Jets got for Williams, a defensive tackle who is almost 30, is comparable to what the Browns got for Myles Garrett. It’s not as good because Smith is nowhere close to Verse, but it’s got to be too close for comfort for Cleveland fans who just 24 hours ago were asking if the Browns could get more than three first-round picks for Garrett.
They didn’t even get two!
Garrett could be reason why Rams got him for cheap
A no-trade clause could be the reason that the Rams got Garrett for a steal. He was controlling the outcome of his trade and certainly the Rams ranked higher than most teams that would have been in the market.
His price tag on a four-year, $160 million contract narrowed the bidders, but so too did the fact that Cleveland wanted to get a young pass rusher in return. Only a few Super Bowl-contending teams may have even been considering it, though the Rams were maybe the only team that had multiple defensive line stars to choose from.
Out of all of the options to trade though, if I’m Les Snead, Jared Verse is the one I’d be most anxious to trade instead of more first-round picks.
Jared Verse: Immediately over-valued
The narrative on who Verse has been with the Rams changed so quickly on Monday that you can’t be blamed if you’re starting to think that the Rams made a mistake letting him go. With no disrespect to his general value as a player, and certainly someone who was underrated the last two years (if we’re not counting the surprising nods to the Pro Bowl he got), Verse has not been a player yet who you’d ever think is going to be an All-Pro.
He’s more “Arik Armstead” than he is “Nick Bosa”.
Verse is a good quality defensive end/outside linebacker who has been praised for his power and bull rush. His 12 career sacks through two seasons does not adequately reflect his value to L.A.’s defense. However, using numbers like pressures and pressure rate to make an argument that he’s “almost as productive” as Garrett dramatically overstates his abilities as a pass rusher and potential to become an All-Pro superstar at the position.
Let’s not forget that at age 25, Verse had 7.5 sacks. He’ll turn 26 in November. He was an old rookie and his development has been slow from the time he was at Florida State. He didn’t “fall” to the Rams at pick 19 in the 2024 draft; the NFL was afraid he’d be as slow to get sacks as he’s been to get sacks. He may not have much more of an arc to his career…what you’ve seen is what you get.
Even receiving tight ends can have their way with Verse, as we saw from Colston Loveland in the playoffs:
If the Rams could get Garrett by only giving up one first-round pick and the only hurdle left to cross was giving up Jared Verse, I can’t imagine that Les Snead did anything less than a full sprint to the finish line.
Reports that the Rams were not willing to give up Verse at first could be true, but could have also been a ploy to the Browns, acting as if they really cared, when in reality they just didn’t want Cleveland to ask for Kobie Turner or Byron Young.
And since GM Andrew Berry finally relented and agreed to this trade, Snead must have been biting his tongue and acting depressed to give up so much, when in reality it’s hard to believe that a two-time Defensive Player of the Year, a former number consensus number one overall pick, and a linebacker who might be even better than he’s been for one of the worst organizations in pro sports, was even on the table.
