The Los Angeles Rams most likely wouldn’t have made the playoffs last season if not for the immediate contributions from rookies such as Puka Nacua, Kobie Turner and Byron Young. After selecting another 10 players in this year’s draft, the Rams hope to get a similar impact from their 2024 class, too.
Jared Verse is most likely going to be a Day 1 starter opposite Young at outside linebacker, but there are two other defenders who could help the Rams right away, too.
ESPN highlighted 10 rookies drafted outside the first round on both offense and defense and the Rams had two defenders selected: Braden Fiske and Kamren Kinchens. ESPN sees both of them as players who should help the Rams early on in 2024, potentially lining up as starters in Week 1.
Here’s what was written about Fiske as an instant-impact player for the Rams, who was ranked first by ESPN.
The Rams had an Aaron Donald-sized hole to (try to) fill at defensive tackle, and Fiske should help fill that void immediately. He lives behind the line of scrimmage as a disruptive force, cruising to six sacks over his final five college games and then crushing the pre-draft process. The Rams’ confidence in his skill set was confirmed by trading up via a package that included a 2025 second-round pick.
No one can replace Aaron Donald for the Rams but the addition of Fiske will certainly help Los Angeles fill that void in the middle of the defense. He’s a disruptive defensive tackle who wreaks havoc as a pass rusher and lives in the backfield when teams try to run the ball.
As for Kinchens, the Rams looked past his athletic limitations after running a 4.65 in the 40-yard dash, selecting him in the third round at No. 99 overall. He could be a Day 1 starter next to Kamren Curl and he should help them create more turnovers on the backend; he had 11 interceptions in the last two seasons combined.
The Rams let Jordan Fuller leave in free agency and saw safety as a position of need in free agency and the draft, signing Curl before drafting Kinchens, so the secondary will have an all-new look.
Kinchens was ranked sixth, so ESPN views him highly too.
Part of what I admire about the Rams’ draft strategy is their willingness to compromise on testing thresholds when a player’s tape is too good to ignore. That was the case with Kinchens, despite some teams’ pause over his 4.65-second run in the 40-yard dash at the combine. His overall tape was excellent — 11 picks over the past two years — and he could start next to Kamren Curl from Day 1.
If the Rams can get meaningful contributions from Verse, Fiske and Kinchens on defense, it’ll go a long way toward helping lessen the pain of losing Donald to retirement.