Rams were so sly about Braden Fiske that even he was shocked team picked him

The LA Rams are wise strategists. Not only does the team play chess to the rest of the NFL's game of checkers, but the team is nefariously wrapped up in misdirection and prestidigitation that their inevitable draft class appears as if by magic at the end of the three day event.

The recap of former Florida State defensive tackle's tale of being selected by the LA Rams early on Day 2 of the 2024 NFL Draft is certainly a tale worth telling, and Forbes writer D.J. Siddiqi sprinkles in enough player quotables to give this story a unique blend worth checking out.

""I was definitely surprised. Because I have talked about it many times in the pre-draft process, every team kind of plays their cards differently of how they show interest, the way that they recruit you, how they get to know you, how they kind of do their background checks on you. I did not really do anything with the Rams, had not really heard much from them,(and) had not really talked to any of them at the All-Star games or the Combine.

When it did happen, it was a big surprise to me. I was not expecting the Rams – because they did not have a selection until a few picks later – but they jumped up and got me and I could not be in a better situation. Where I am at now with this coaching staff, this is probably the best situation I could have been put in.

It is just cool. Because you show up to an unfamiliar place with at least somebody you have a familiar bond with and you can come in here and get right to work. It is honestly been a really smooth transition. I credit that a lot to being able to play with Jared (again) and just going through the day with him – because it is like secondhand – doing everything we did at Florida State."

- Braden Fiske

The LA Rams met with at least 23 rookie prospects before the 2024 NFL Draft. Of that group, the only player who was actually selected by the team was Washington State's OLB Brennan Jackson. In post-draft review, some had suggested that the Rams laid bread crumbs as misdirection to other NFL teams over which rookie prospects that they were truly interested in.

That need-to-know strategy seemed to hold the lid on the team's interest in Braden Fiske, because not even the player himself had any indication that the team was truly interest in him in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Perhaps in the video footage of his game day reaction, part of the emotions that rushed to his face came from the sheer surprise that it was the Rams, the same team that had selected his teammate, outside linebacker Jared Verse, on the phone asking him if he was ready to become an LA Rams player.

This story is more than great entertainment. Two incredibly talented defensive standouts in the 2024 NFL Draft get the advantage of starting on square one with a familiar friend. They have the added incentive of knowing that an NFL team went to unheard of lengths to ensure that they would play their next four NFL seasons on the same Rams roster.

But perhaps, most of all, Fiske and Verse know full-well that the this team has gone to great lengths to earn their trust and loyalty, something that is rare indeed in the NFL. As a result, the team can bank on getting the best out of both teammates instantly out of the gates this season.

Since taking over in 2017, LA Rams HC Sean McVay has only had one rookie selected from among the Top-40 players chosen in an NFL Draft. That happened in the 2023 NFL Draft when the team landed TCU's versatile interior offensive line Steve Avila with the 36th overall pick in Round 2 of the 2023 NFL Draft.

The team just doubled that number by adding two more players from among the Top-40 players chosen in the 2024 NFL Draft. If you get what you pay for, then the LA Rams fans are in for one incredibly entertaining 2024 NFL season.

Thanks for reading.