Rams' Verse and Fiske Enter Training Camp With High Ambitions

But then there's the other part. Where primal turns to poise. Where instincts turn into deliberate concentrated effort. The mind of a predator, the intelligence of a hunter, the thought process of a play maker.

When that primal nature meets intelligence and experience, turning said linemen from playmakers to game-wrecking destroyers and the Los Angeles Rams enter 2025 with four men looking for offensive lines to wreck.

The way the Rams defensive line, especially the new fearsome foursome of Jared Verse, Byron Young Kobie Turner, and Braden Fiske, approached OTAs, it was serious business with attitudes that reeked of wanting to inflict continuous damage with Super Bowl-winning results.

For Verse and Fiske, the chance for the championship powers their thirst for an elusive greatness.

In 2023, as members of an undefeated Florida State team that were unfairly denied an opportunity to compete for a National Championship due to not being "entertaining" enough, they had to endure heartbreak for no justifiable reason.

In 2024, they got their playoff game and shined against the Vikings, rewriting their story. However, an injury to Fiske played a major factor in another failed pursuit. With fresh legs and new mindsets, the Super Bowl is once again in reach.

Verse. The outspoken, unforgiving, wonderboy of the NFL. One of the most dominant players as a rookie, in his season finale, he dominated the Eagles' offensive line, a line considered the best in the NFL.

Verse is as motivated as he's ever been, still reeling from the Rams' playoff loss. He called out Aaron Donald for a workout but deep down, Verse has such tremendous respect and adoration for the NFL legend, he wants to emulate Donald's mythic-like production.

Winning the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in your second season wouldn't be the worst start to accomplishing that feat. Verse is on the verge of making that switch from playmaker to game wrecker, recognizing some of the mental mistakes he made as a rookie, detailing his approach to fix them.

"The biggest thing I realized was how many sacks—and not even just sacks but big plays—that I missed out on," stated Verse during OTAs. "Dropping in coverage, I could have done this; or rushing the pass, I could have done that. Even in the run game, a couple of times there were things where I’m a little too far inside, I’m a little too far outside, and I could have made a big impact play. So realizing that this really is a game of inches—whether it’s stopping the ball or actually just doing your job—there’s a couple of things I could’ve done better."

Braden Fiske will have something to say about that, having led all rookies in sacks, joining Verse as a finalist for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, losing out to his Florida State teammate.

Fiske was a force to be had and after taking the time to address some lingering health issues this offseason, he looks healthy and hungry entering year two, especially after the Rams' signed Poona Ford.

"I think we did good, but I think we became more focused on helping the team than trying to do our own little thing and having a good little duo going on," stated Verse. "I think we have learned the opportunities that we have to work together. We’ll look at each other and he’ll just shake his head yes, and I’m like, ‘Oh, I know what this is,’ or he’ll look at me and I’ll be like [nodding yes]. So now we finally took another step—having another year together to figure out, ‘Hey, this is how I work, this is how he works.’ So, I feel like this year is going to be a good one for us to play together."

Keep in mind that this is year four of that partnership. They're combining their NFL knowledge with what worked in college to develop a refined form of this duo.

My take: Both Jared Verse and Braden Fiske are going to have double-digit sack seasons as they become the most dominant defensive line duo since Donald and Ndamukong Suh.