Braden Fiske got a double-dose of great news back in April when Les Snead and Sean McVay told him the Rams were drafting him in the second round. Fiske was excited to learn his new NFL team would include his neighbor on the Florida State defense, edge rusher Jared Verse.
One month into their rookie NFL season, the Verse-Fiske duo is giving the Rams (1-3) hope for a bright defensive future post-Aaron Donald. Draft expert Dane Brugler from The Athletic named each player to his early All-Rookie Team on Wednesday. The pair represents the only teammates on Brugler’s first-team list.
Verse, the first Rams player selected in the first round since Jared Goff in 2016, has just one sack – ironically taking down Goff in Week 1. However, Verse leads all rookies with 17 pressures through four weeks. That’s interesting because there was no consensus among NFL teams as to the draft’s best edge rusher, Verse, Laiatu Latu or Dallas Turner. After an early run on quarterbacks, the Colts made Latu (No. 15) the first overall defensive player drafted, two picks before Minnesota selected Turner. The Rams chose Verse at No. 19.
“I don’t think the Rams have any regrets over how it played out,” Brugler said. “You’d like to see Verse finish at the quarterback more often, and his missed tackles stick out like a sore thumb (at least three of them in in each of the last three games). But he consistently affects the backfield action with his natural power and violence in his hands to win the point of attack.”
Chicago felt that attack last week, when Verse finished with a 50.0-percent pass-rush win rate, tied with the Giants’ Dexter Lawerence for the NFL’s top percentage in a game this season, Brugler mentioned.
Caleb Williams also felt the attack last week of Fiske, who posted his first NFL sack midway through the second quarter. Fiske collapsed the pocket on that play, beating left guard Matt Pryor to strip Williams. Pryor redeemed himself somewhat by recovering the fumble Fiske forced.
“With his quickness and relentless play style, Fiske is easy to spot on film and tough to block,” wrote Brugler, noting Fiske’s 13 pressures are second among NFL rookies to Verse, who surprised many by returning to the Seminoles for his senior season.
Fiske actually entered the combine graded by most teams as a third-round prospect. But Brugler noted Fiske’s eye-opening numbers in Indianapolis led to a late rise, and the Rams traded up to get him, surrendering three picks, including a second-rounder in 2025 that might provide capital for the Panthers to acquire a player before the Nov. 5 trade deadline. ESPN’s Seth Walder called the Fiske trade the most expensive Day 2 overpay since at least 2019.
But Snead and McVay have to be happy with the early returns on their investment in Fiske.
“His lack of length and inconsistent rush plan are concerns,” Brugler said, “but he creates stress on a blocking scheme with his disruptive traits and unrelenting effort.”
That disruption will be the Packers’ problem this week. Green Bay (2-2) visits the Rams on Sunday (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS). Brugler also recognized Packers rookie Javon Bullard as his runner-up safety, behind the Giants’ Tyler Nubin, on Brugler’s early season All-Rookie Team Wednesday.
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