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.
If you havent watched Florida State vs. Louisville from this past year I highly suggest you do so. Its obvious to see just how good the chemistry is between Jared Verse and Braden Fiske. They play off one another to just wreck havoc on opposing teams. This game was a gem! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/NkfxokSSlK
— Allen Sales (@AllenSales) April 27, 2024
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:
Who's cutting onions? 🥹 pic.twitter.com/fj3RZaH63Z
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) April 27, 2024
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.
Tyler Davis is a big Aaron Donald fan, and his agent already got him a Rams hat. He’s close friends with Rams TE Davis Allen, his former Clemson teammate
He already admires ACC rivals Jared Verse & Braden Fiske: “They’re some dawgs for sure. We got a bunch of dawgs on the Rams.” pic.twitter.com/Qs9kjL08I4
— Greg Beacham (@gregbeacham) April 27, 2024
Top Bench Press reps among DL:
34 – Jordan Jefferson
31 – Jared Verse
29 – Kris Jenkins, Ruke Orhorhoro, Tyler Davis
28 – Byron Murphy II
27 – Marcus Harris
26 – Braden Fiske, Xavier Thomas
25 – Logan Lee, Cedric Johnson, Mekhi Wingo, Gabe Murphy
23 – Mo Kamara, Javon Solomon— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) March 1, 2024
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.
