The Los Angeles Rams went back-to-back defensive players in the first two rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft. In their first first-round selection since 2016, they took Florida State defensive end Jared Verse to help put some more pressure on the quarterback. In the second round, the Rams traded up to the No. 39 pick and didn’t veer too far, taking Florida State defensive tackle Braden Fiske.
Verse and Fiske were excellent in their final season together with the Seminoles. Fiske, as a fifth-year senior, collected six sacks and nine tackles for loss in 13 games. He is known as one of fastest interior defensive linemen in the 2024 draft class, posting a 4.78 40-yard dash time. Verse, meanwhile, was the star of the FSU defensive line in his second season.
He had 12.5 tackles for loss, nine sacks, a forced fumble and three pass deflections. He was widely seen as one of the best overall defensive players in the draft. And now, the two will continue their run as teammates on the Rams defensive line. Fiske, for one, could not be any happier with his landing spot, according to Stu Jackson of TheRams.com:
“It’s unbelievable,” Fiske said. “It’s just a blessing. I just cannot believe that happened.”
Fiske believes he and Verse will bring impeccable chemistry to the Rams, as they had incredible success alongside one another in Florida:
“I mean, it got to the point in the season where you get that head nod, just look at each other, and you knew what was coming,” Fiske said. “It just got to the point where we were just playing off each other. He’d see something I get and I’d see something he’d get, and we’d just go out there making plays.”
In the Rams first draft of the post Aaron Donald era, they land two defensive prospects that they are very excited about. The biggest knock against either young player is Fiske’s size, and the Rams have taken a chance on an undersized defensive tackle before, with the result being one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history.
Fiske and Verse — like the Rams — are excited to see what they can do alongside one another in the pros.
Rams had looked into trading up for Brock Bowers
The Rams ultimately decided to focus on defense in the 2024 NFL Draft. However, one of their initial plans was the idea of trading up higher in the first round in order to select the draft’s best tight end, Brock Bowers.
