Rams took a Fiske in the 2024 NFL Draft, so how's that working out?

Entering Week 17, the LA Rams' young pass rush had been rather quiet of late. A young defense that built itself around the ability to get after the quarterback is going to struggle if the defense no longer gets after the quarterback. To the contrary, the Rams' defense may not have recorded any sacks, but this defense has shown up in huge ways as the season winds down.

Still, an NFL team's pass rush will forever be judged by the basic premise that good pass rushers record quarterback sacks in the NFL. So it comes as no surprise that the sudden silence from the Rams defense in terms of rushing the opposing quarterback made more than a couple of fans squirm in their seats a bit. The Rams recorded just one sack in Week 12, failed to record a single sack in Weeks 13 and 14, posted just three sacks in Week 15, and had to settle for just one quarterback sack in Week 16.

Still, the lack of sacks did not necessarily translate into bad defense. Quite the opposite in fact, as the Rams have allowed just 24 points in total to be scored in the last three games. Clearly, something is working for this defense.

Perhaps I should rephrase that. Some players are working hard on this defense. And if we are being honest to ourselves, we can already guess who they are. But why is a bit more involved. You see, the Rams front office heeded the advice of former All-Pro DT Aaron Donald in 2023 by drafting players who had a pure passion for the game of football. Despite addressing the defensive front in Round 3 of that draft, the team landed OLB Byron Young, and NT Kobie Turner, two young defenders whose passion for football is off the charts.

The team was so pleased with the results in 2023 that the front office employed a similar strategy in the 2024 NFL Draft. The Rams defense needed something to keep the group productive through a long 18 game season.