Why LA Rams wisely invested draft picks in the DL a year earlier than 2025

When you know, you know. As soon as the Los Angeles Rams had selected Florida State University's outstanding outside linebacker Jared Verse, the stars aligned for the team to choose his teammate and outstanding-in-his-own-right defensive lineman, Braden Fiske. At the time, NFL draft analysts were not warm and fuzzy to the idea of pairing up the two on the Rams roster. It's not that they felt that Fiske was not NFL ready. The disdain for the Rams' actions was more about the price paid in terms of draft picks to emerge with Fiske.

The Rams exchanged the 2024 NFL Draft 52nd overall pick, a Round 5 pick, plus a 2025 NFL Draft Round 2 pick. We were one of the only sites to applaud the move. Draft picks are simply NFL currency. So the only way to judge if you've spent currency well is to determine the value given up and compare it to the value received. With Fiske ending up in the running for 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year, I'd say it was a good investment.

Of course, just as the NFL wanted to emulate the achievements of Rams WR Puka Nacua's rookie season, the lure of trying to replicate Rams DT Braden Fiske is just too attractive to resist. And so, the NFL Network is already comparing the feats of defensive linemen prospects to that set by Braden Fiske just one year ago.

And the hope is that by associating prospects to Fiske, NFL teams will project that (or those) prospect(s) to the same heights as Fiske accomplished in 2024.

The challenge in the 2025 NFL Draft is the sheer number of defensive linemen who are impressing NFL draft analysts. Some analysts are so very excited about the class that they are anticipating as many as 20 players hearing their names called out in the first two rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft:

In 2024, nine rookie prospects heard their names called out in the first two rounds of the draft.

The Rams were not premature at selecting a defensive linemen. It's simply easier to see high-quality traits that stand out from a handful of players, rather than a small army of them. And the elite qualities that Braden Fiske exuded in 2024 were more than measurables at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine.

He possesses a passionate love of football. He has a competitive nature that drives him to keep playing long after his body is too fatigued to go on. And he has a strong unbreakable friendship with Jared Verse, the stuff that motivates both players to be the best version of themselves.

Here are more Rams articles that you may enjoy as well: