Get your tissues ready for this, because it’s one of the most moving draft day phone calls you’ll ever see. Jared Verse was the 19th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and the Los Angeles Rams boldly traded up in the second round to take Verse’s Florida State teammate, Braden Fiske, at No. 38 overall.
Verse and Fiske became fast, very close friends during their only shared season in Tallahassee. With a mutual appreciation for overcoming adversity and a work ethic that drove them from lower levels of football to dominating for a College Football Playoff team, they spearheaded the Seminoles’ stellar defense.
An ACC title and 13-0 record cemented their legacies in college, capped with a signature tandem performance in the conference championship game, a 16-6 win over Louisville.
Even sweeter? Playing for a great Rams team with an excellent culture cultivated by coach Sean McVay.
As it turns out, when Fiske got on the horn to talk to LA’s brass during the draft, they wanted Verse to make the call. Unfortunately, he was stuck in traffic, yet when the moment came and Verse got on the line, the emotion poured out regardless:
Such a heartwarming, wholesome scene. Who doesn’t love a good bromance between two grown-men athletes like this?
I can’t find it for the life of me now; you’ll just have to trust me. I saw Verse being interviewed, and he said that until he met Fiske, he’d never met anyone who worked as hard as him. These dudes are supreme talents who are all about ball. I don’t see them getting all caught up in the Los Angeles nightlife, or partying away their potential. The Rams had to make sure they prioritized pass-rushing and production in the defensive trenches in this draft since Aaron Donald retired. Consider that mission accomplished and then some.
Hard for me to recall seeing this in the NFL before. Two teammates, picked back-to-back in the draft, with innate chemistry and experience playing off each other? That’s almost too good to be true for the Rams in their quest to somehow compensate for the loss of Donald.
Between low-key 2023 Rookie of the Year contender Kobie Turner, Fiske, and Clemson’s Tyler Davis, the interior d-line sans Donald suddenly has a bright future.
Verse and Fiske in particular are going to make big splashes in LA as rookies. For as “f**k them picks” as GM Les Snead is, he’s done an underrated, excellent job at hitting later-round picks during his tenure.
The Rams had premium draft assets this time around and made the most of them. Far and away one of my favorite 2024 draft classes. Hell of a duo headlining the group, too.
