Rams' GM is Very Pleased With Defensive Rookies

The Los Angeles Rams' Les Snead had another draft masterclass this past offseason and the defensive players he helped to draft have been nothing short of incredible this season.

May 23, 2023, Thousand Oaks, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams general manager Les Snead during organized team activities at Cal Lutheran. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Rams selected five defensive players in the 2024 NFL Draft. Many of them have already made a big impact in their first few games of professional footaball. Rams general manager Les Snead was surgical with his selections, reaping the benefits with almost every rookie defender.

The Rams' highest priority this offseason was to find a few strong pass rushers to help this defense create more pressure. That is exactly what Snead did as the first two draft picks last season were pass rushers from Florida State.

First-rounder Jared Verse and second-rounder Braden Fiske have knocked the socks off of the Rams organization and the rest of the league for how well they have performed through eight games in their rookie season.

Verse ranks second on the team in sacks (3.5) while Fiske brought his total to three on the season with a pair of sacks in the Week 9 win over Seattle. The immediate impact that theset two have had when transitioning so quickly from college to the NFL cannot be understated.

According to NFL Plus, Verse (39 pressures) and Fiske (25 pressures) have combined for 64 quarterback pressures this season which is the most by any rookie duo through nine weeks in the past seven seasons. The Rams essentially drafted the two best pass rushers in the last year's draft.

"I always say it's probably depending on where you pick them and what round they come from," Snead said. "That's a realistic expectation. The neat thing for all our rookies... what is really cool is to see them get here. What an adjustment to go from college football to the NFL, to this level of the video game but to see them adjust and then to see them start having success, that's just really cool. All of a sudden, they're living their dream and [they realize] wait a minute, I can actually do this. It's one thing to dream, it's another thing to be a successful living it. I think with a lot of our rookies, you can see who they have a chance to become, and you can definitely see some of them getting there."

Snead was also to garner a pair of first-year safeties to bolster the defensive secondary. Third-round pick Kamren Kinchens and undrafted free agent Jaylen McCollough have made quite the statement to begin their budding careers.

Kinchens was most recently named the NFC defensive player of the week with his performance against Seattle last week. Two interceptions, a 103-yard franchise record pick six, and a fumble recovery has put this kid on the map as a strong defensive threat for NFL quarterbacks.

McCollough has been just as effective even though he was not selected in the draft. Three interceptions in the past two games has shown that the former Tennessee Volunteer was overlooked by every team but the Rams were smart enough to bring him on when all was said and done.

It was extremely rare that a team is able to see such success from so many different rookies in the early going of the season.

Snead and the rest of the organization deserve an immense amount of credit of their decisions in drafting many of the newest Rams players that have helped lead this team to three-straight wins.

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