Standout wide receiver Puka Nacua is ready to roll, but Aaron Donald’s retirement still hangs in the air for the Los Angeles Rams. However, head coach Sean McVay identified the player who reminds him of Aaron Donald.
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The player is second-round pick Braden Fiske. He is a 6-4, 291-pound defensive tackle. McVay said another rookie, linebacker Jared Verse, is helping Fiske try to reach his first-year potential, according to theramswire.com.
“Jared is always talking and Braden is observant, but he’s taken everything in,” McVay said. “His demeanor reminds me very similarly to Aaron’s (Donald) in terms of how locked in he is on the field, the focus and concentration. I think they’re both uniquely themselves though. I think that’s what’s great about it. We don’t want guys to be anything other than themselves.”
Rams DT Braden Fiske drawing attention
The Rams traded up to draft Fiske in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft. After the draft, McVay said the Rams went full bore to get Fiske, according to theramswire.com via the Rams’ YouTube page.
“Fiske was the guy that we identified,” McVay said. “Hey, let’s do whatever we can to get up and go get this guy. And we were trying from the very jump. Fortunately, Tony was able to get that thing done and we were able to do it and we felt like it was something that was part of the plan. The plan unfolded the way that we wanted it to. Sometimes it doesn’t work out that way but a real credit to those guys to be able to execute it and bring it to life.”
As for Fiske, he said he knows he will have his hands full, stepping into the position Donald dominated for many years, according to forbes.com.
“At the end of the day — like I said — it's just football,” said Fiske. “Everything starts to click pretty quick once you kind of get the terminology down. You kind of understand what the expectation is of your position. I think the transition has been pretty smooth.”
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Fiske also said he’s learning from his teammates.
“Guys are smart,” said Fiske. “Guys have been doing this for a long time. They see certain things. They've been running in this system for a few more years than I have. It's been a great living experience and I'm just excited to grow and build on what we started here.”
The Rams traded up from No. 52 to 39 to get Fiske. They gave up the 155th overall pick this year, and a 2025 second-rounder next year, to get the deal done.
