The Los Angeles Rams made a massive trade up in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, a move that has drawn plenty of criticism, to select Florida State defensive tackle Braden Fiske 39th overall. The Rams have needed a defensive tackle since Aaron Donald's retirement, so in a vacuum, the pick makes sense. The trade UP for him is a head-scratcher, but the position itself is what they needed, right?
Well...sort of.
I broke this down in a previous article of mine discussing why the Rams shouldn't panic into a first-round defensive tackle to replace Donald (something they seemingly did anyways a round later), but from what we can gleam the Rams' defensive fronts to be, Fiske's fit is...a bit odd.
In the Rams' base odd front looks, they'll look something like this:
EDGE
DE/4
NT/0T
DE/4
EDGE
and their sub-package (third-down) looks with two defensive linemen and "four-down" looks are something like this:
EDGE
3T
1T
EDGE
The 3T, in their sub-package looks (typically a 2-4-5), is the primary interior pass rusher of the unit, the role that Aaron Donald played and the spot that the Rams have said Kobie Turner will likely move into. Turner will also expand into playing more of the DE/4i looks in their base defense, something he didn't do last year. The 1T is usually aligned in between the center and guard and typically handles a lot more double-teams. Both the 1 and the 3 are still "one-gapping", but usually 1T players are bigger in size (for the Rams, think Greg Gaines) and help shore up the team's run defense.
The Rams are a pretty heavy "5-1" front team (an offshoot of a 3-3-5), using it as their main base defense, and they have for years ever since Brandon Staley revitalized that unit. The 3-down linemen in that grouping are playing 4-0-4 techniques. They're all "two gapping" or occupying blockers and handling double-teams in the run game. Typically, much like the 1T, these players are bigger, stronger players that can control the line of scrimmage.
The Rams needed players to play the other defensive end spot in base looks and the 1T opposite of Turner. These players have a little more mass in order to two-gap effectively, take on double-teams, and hold up against the run while still offering some value as a pass rusher. The problem is: That's not where Braden Fiske fits.
Fiske is a three-technique, much like what Kobie Turner is. He's undersized and doesn't have a lot of mass on him. Ask any draft analyst out there and I doubt you'll find anyone thrilled about Fiske playing the run in a two-gap approach or handling double-teams as a 1T or 4i. I wrote in my scouting report that Fiske would be best served as a sub-package 3T in the NFL early in his career.
What about the idea of putting Fiske at 3T and keeping Turner at the role he played last season? The idea does hold some merit, but the role Turner played as the 1T doesn't suit him. The Rams played him there as the best way to get both him and Donald on the field at the same time and Donald could occupy multiple blockers. Turner isn't best served taking on double teams, but rather in the pass-rushing role the Rams seem set to play him at because he's also an undersized lineman. He's a great three-technique who they also plan on playing in base, something Turner didn't do last year.
The Rams played "light boxes" (six or fewer defenders in the box) at the *highest* rate last year, #1 in the NFL, and that number likely isn't changing anytime soon. That works when you have Aaron Donald occupying multiple blockers, but they don't have Aaron Donald anymore. Instead, the Rams have two undersized linemen who don't really have the power or size to occupy blockers and keep linebackers clean. Both are best suited for attacking roles pursuing the quarterback. How does this translate into helping them maintain their light box fronts moving forward? I'm not quite sure.
All this begs the question: Where is Braden Fiske going to play to make him worth the massive trade-up the team paid for him? How can the Rams get him and Turner out there in a way that doesn't compromise their run defense? That answer remains a bit more complicated.
I don't believe Fiske will be a player the team relies on in base formation. You just simply cannot ask him to two-gap and occupy inside. He doesn't have the size for that. This was the issue the Rams had with Kobie Turner last season, as he rarely played in base. Maybe the other player opposite of Turner in base front will now be Michael Hoecht, filling in for Jonah Williams, but that has its own risks over their depth and both he and Turner's ability to play those roles.
Fiske should see the field in their sub-package looks. However, the team has to be wary about both he and Turner's sawn-off length and size getting taken advantage of in the run game. This could be mitigated by the Rams having an established linebacker unit, the vision they had when they signed Bobby Wagner, but they don't have anything close to resembling that, so I won't bother going down that line.
Long story short, the Rams traded up to take a player that doesn't seem to solve the needs of their defensive front post-Donald, doesn't project well to be a three-down player, and might be better off rotating with Kobie Turner instead of complementing him. It's a risky gamble on their parts and they'll need it to pay off fast if they want to keep winning.