LA traded up to take Braden Fiske, will he prove Rams right?

LA traded up high to take Fiske, Can he live up to the lofty expectations?

In the 2024 NFL Draft the Los Angeles Rams moved up in the second round and selected defensive lineman Braden Fiske with the 39th overall pick. Fiske has been playing football since at least high school. Before college he attended Michigan City High School and played both football and baseball. The three-star defensive tackle went on to play college football for Western Michigan for five seasons. He mostly redshirted his freshman year, but showed progress each season, and finally in his fifth year he started to put it all together as he recorded 59 tackers (12 for a loss). He was voted second-team All-MAC that same season.

“Everyone’s track’s a little different,” Fiske said on Wednesday. “It took me six years to get to this point. Some guys it takes three or four, but no matter what, the opportunity is gonna come, you just gotta wait for that wall to fall. If you keep pushing, it’s gonna fall at some point.”

After that 2022 season he transferred to the Power Five Level and Florida State University where he piled up the tackles again with 43 (nine for a loss) to become an AP All-American in 2023. He played a big part in helping his team win the ACC Championship with nine tackles and three sacks.

The now 24 year old enters NFL to begin his rookie season and start his NFL journey.

LA traded up with the Carolina Panthers to take Fiske, and some have questioned whether LA gave up too much to add the player. In looking at Fiske’s college stats he accumulated 19.5 sacks and 191 total tackles, Fiske is a highly drafted defensive tackle coming to a team that just saw one of the greatest defensive tackles of all time retire. Aaron Donald steps away and in comes Fiske and fellow newly drafted first round pick Jared Verse to try and make up for the huge loss.

Funnily enough, Fiske and Verse are reuniting in the NFL after playing together last season at Florida State University.

In one of the coolest draft moments you’ll ever see, Verse plays part in the introductory call to inform Fiske that he made it to the NFL level, and that he will be joining Verse as a new Ram.

Due to the fact that Fiske and Verse were teammates in college there is game tape on them. In fact, if you watch the video linked here: former player Beu Allen breaks down some of Fiske’s film and talent. Scroll to around the seven minute mark you’ll see Fiske and Verse playing off of each other. In one of the plays highlighted Fiske hits an offensive lineman, but breaks off, Verse then comes in and smashes the lineman to help Fiske get up field where he secures the tackle. It’s action like that which had to cause the Rams to want to pair these two at the next level.

Fiske’s NFL.com draft profile notes him to be a quick and powerful player, but a negative is that he lacks the arm length and size that many evaluators may look for in premiere defensive tackles. He showed in college that his high motor and ability to get to the football can be a nuisance for opposing teams, and despite reportedly having smaller arms he knows how to use his hands. This is a player who may understand his own game, any weaknesses, and want to put in the effort to overcome them. That is exactly the type of player Les Snead and Sean McVay look to add.

“There’s not going to be any questions of, can I handle the pressures of the next level,” Fiske claimed. “There’s not going to be any questions of can I handle the long days, the film, everything that goes into it. This is something I’ve been doing for a long time and I’ve been able to handle up to this point, and I think I’m ready to play at a high level and continue the success.”

Fiske and Verse may be somewhat synonymous because they were drafted together and played in college together, but LA would not have added Fiske if he did not bring individual value. He made his own plays in college and had an excellent showing at the NFL Combine. LA didn’t just add him because he played with Verse, they added him because he can help this team now and potentially for seasons to come. It’s why LA gave up a 2025 second round pick to make the leap and snag their guy.

There’s always risk in trading up to take a player, but Fiske seems to want to prove his reward is worth the risk. In his introductory press conference Fiske was asked about LA trading up to get him and he didn’t downplay how much it motivates him.

“That means the world… a team that’s willing to take a chance…they see that highly of you that they are willing to trade up to get you I mean that speaks for itself. And for me…I don’t take that granted…in return I’m gonna give everything I got when I get there.”

Will Fiske live up to justifying the trade? Can Fiske and Verse continue to play well at the NFL level? Will Fiske be a defensive stalwart for the franchise for seasons to come? So many questions to be answered.

What we do know is that Fiske joins the Los Angeles Rams with a chance to start immediately. It did take him some time to adjust from high school to college ball, but with NFL coaching, the players around him and Fiske’s own work ethic it’s fair to expect him to be ready to go in year one. If he’s not, then there will be a lot of questions about why LA gave up what they did to take him. That’s not the type of attention Fiske or the Rams want.