Internally, it was no secret that the Los Angeles Rams wanted to land Florida State defensive tackle Braden Fiske at some point in the 2024 NFL draft. Whether it was at the end of Round 1 in a trade-back scenario or in the second round, the Rams targeted Fiske early in the draft.
Despite their undeniable interest in the former Seminole, Fiske had no idea the Rams prioritized drafting him. Los Angeles hid its interest in Fiske throughout the pre-draft process before trading up to select him at No. 39 overall in Round 2.
Fiske told Forbes that he was surprised the Rams drafted him because he had so little contact with them leading up to the draft.
“I was definitely surprised,” Fiske said. “Because I’ve 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 didn’t really do anything with the Rams, hadn’t really heard much from them, hadn’t really talked to any of them at the all-star games or the combine.”
After selecting Jared Verse at No. 19 overall, the Rams knew they wanted to try to land Fiske, too. However, their next pick wasn’t until No. 52 and they figured Fiske wouldn’t fall that far on Friday night.
So they began calling teams in an attempt to trade up, eventually striking a deal with the Panthers for the 39th pick. The fact that the Rams didn’t have another selection until No. 52 also made Fiske believe he wouldn’t be heading to L.A.
“When it did happen, it was a big surprise to me,” Fiske said. “I wasn’t expecting the Rams – because they didn’t have a selection until a few picks later – but they jumped up and got me and I couldn’t be in a better situation. Where I’m at now with this coaching staff, this is probably the best situation I could have been put in.”
Not only does Fiske get to play for a team that has historically had a very good defensive line, but he also gets to team up with Verse again after playing alongside him at Florida State in 2023. It’s a perfect situation for him as a rookie defensive lineman and it should yield immediate results in Los Angeles.