The Los Angeles Rams defense may be young, but it’s brimming with talent heading into the 2024 season.
The Rams will have a new leader in Chris Shula after Raheem Morris departed, but the defensive line is in good hands behind Kobie Turner and Byron Young despite the retirement of Aaron Donald. Joining them in the trenches are Jared Verse and Braden Fiske, Los Angeles’ first two picks in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Verse and Fiske were a powerhouse of a tandem during their time together at Florida State and will get an opportunity to build on their chemistry with the Rams.
Fiske opened up about his relationship with Verse and made them so close right away, via Stu Jackson of TheRams.com:
“I wasn’t going to let someone outwork me,” Fiske said after being drafted. “That’s something that made us gravitate towards each other. The closer we got, the harder we worked. He was somebody that was in the building with me ’til seven, eight o’clock at night watching film, breaking stuff down and it translated on the field. Just somebody who I can compete with, somebody I can work with. From Day 1, he was somebody that I knew right away, ‘Alright, this is a guy I’m gonna be around because I can see the way he works and the way he gets after it.’”
Fiske also went on to talk about what the duo could look like down the line:
“It’s one thing to play next to somebody,” Fiske said after being drafted. “But when it’s next to somebody you’re having fun with and somebody you can enjoy playing ball with, it’s different. Me and him just have a different chemistry that we just built in one year. I can’t imagine what we could build in three, four or five, even longer. I mean, it’s really special.”
General manager Les Snead couldn’t pass up the opportunity to reunite Verse and Fiske and his gamble could prove fortuitous if they can hit their potential together. Los Angeles won’t ever be able to replace what Donald did on the field, but Verse and Fiske are a worthy attempt to try and do that.
Rams’ Braden Fiske focused on being himself and not filling Aaron Donald’s shoes
Braden Fiske understands that he’s walking into a tough situation as the de facto person replacing Aaron Donald along the Rams defensive line. However, the rookie isn’t worried about filling Donald’s shoes and is focused on being himself.
