The 2024 NFL Draft is now in the rearview mirror. After a flurry of selections from April 25 to April 27, 257 players were selected to join the NFL.
With that, we give you our full recap of the Los Angeles Rams‘ draft, with analysis on every selection the team made during the weekend and an in-depth look at their top pick.
For more information on the players your favorite team drafted, it’s not too late to get the 2024 NFL Draft Guide, which includes expanded scouting reports, draft grades, offseason reports, unique advanced data, PFF grades and much more.
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2024 Draft Picks
- 1 (19): EDGE Jared Verse, Florida State
- 2 (39): DI Braden Fiske, Florida State
- 3 (83): RB Blake Corum, Michigan
- 3 (99): S Kamren Kinchens, Miami Fl.
- 5 (154): EDGE Brennan Jackson, Washington State
- 6 (196): DI Tyler Davis, Clemson
- 6 (209): K Joshua Karty, Stanford
- 6 (213): WR Jordan Whittington, Texas
- 6 (217): C Beaux Limmer, Arkansas
- 7 (254): IOL KT Leveston, Kansas State
Verse — The Rams desperately needed edge help, and they select arguably the best power rusher in the class. Verse burst onto the scene over the past two years at Florida State, ranking second among Power Five edge rushers in pass-rush win rate. The Rams use their highest selection since 2016 to reset their pass rush after Aaron Donald‘s retirement.
Fiske — Los Angeles gives up significant draft capital to move up and get their Aaron Donald “replacement,” pairing Fiske back up with college teammate Jared Verse. Fiske has limited length (31-inch arms), but he’s a very good athlete who has the quickness to get into the backfield regularly. Fiske’s grading profile did take a step back after transferring to Florida State, with his 73.9 PFF grade a dip from the 88.6 PFF grade he put up in his final season at Western Michigan in 2022.
Corum — After racking up 27 touchdowns and earning an 83.4 rushing grade for Michigan last season, Corum should push for significant touches right off the bat in the Rams’ multiple run schemes. Corum offers elite vision and change-of-direction ability, two things clearly valued by head coach Sean McVay, as Kyren Williams brings a similar skill set.
Kinchens — Kinchens’ 11 interceptions since 2022 are the most at the position. Kinchens is a well-rounded athlete with good awareness and instincts at the safety position. While he’s on the lighter and smaller side, Kinchens’ ball skills enable him to profile well to a deep free safety role in the NFL. His 90.0 grade in 2022 ranked fifth in all of college football.
Jackson — Jackson tallied 83 total pressures over the past two seasons with an impressive 16 sacks. He also showed an ability to bat passes down, notching seven during his career at Washington State.
Davis — Davis was a monster against the run in college. His 90.8 run-defense grade in 2023 was the best of his career, and his 91.1 run-defense grade over the past two seasons was the third-best among interior defenders in this draft class.
Karty — Karty graded higher than Alabama’s Will Reichard (who was drafted a few spots before him) since 2021. His 97.0 PFF grade on field goals and extra points since 2021 led all of college football, and he went 24-of-27 on field goals of at least 40 yards over the past two seasons.
Whittington — Whittington is one of PFF lead draft analyst Trevor Sikkema‘s favorite late-round receivers. His 27 missed tackles forced after the catch since 2022 ranked third among Big 12 receivers in that span.
Limmer — The Rams get solid value in Limmer here in the sixth round. He earned a 74.0-plus PFF grade in each of the past three seasons. He is a better run blocker than a pass blocker and is coming off a season where he led all draft-eligible centers in PFF run-blocking grade on gap plays (77.4).
Leveston — The Rams continue bulking up their trenches with the selection of KT Leveston out of Kansas State. He allowed 18 pressures on 430 pass-blocking snaps at left tackle in 2023, but his frame and movement skills likely make him a guard at the next level.
DRAFT GRADE: B+
Rookie Spotlight: EDGE Jared Verse, Florida State
Scouting summary
Verse is a devastatingly powerful edge defender who brings the gym to the field on all three downs. After his 2020 season at Albany was canceled due to COVID-19, Verse and his father built a home gym, and he put on 40 pounds in one year. He came back and was an FCS All-American.
He transferred to Florida State the following season and displayed overwhelming strength against LSU in just his second game in the FBS.
His speed-to-power is consistently effective. His hands are powerful and violent, and his swipes look like they hurt. His best work comes from the power he generates as a three-point defensive end.
Wins above average
WAA represents the number of wins a player is worth over an average college football player and is a metric evaluators can utilize to assess performance.
It combines how well a player performed in each facet of play (using PFF grades) and how valuable each facet is to winning football games. The result is a first-of-its-kind metric that allows for cross-positional valuation and predicts future value at the player and team levels.
How Latu ranks in the stable metrics
Verse has dominated everywhere he’s played. He posted a career pass-rush win rate of 20.4% and is an extremely polished pass-rusher.
He is also a solid run defender in a way that the other top edge defenders in this class aren’t. Though a lot of his production against the run came while at Albany, he’s forced a run stop on 7.5% of plays in his career, a very good mark.
The bottom line
Verse doesn't have the longest arms, and that shows up in some pass-rush counters and in his tackling, but he brings his hard hat and lunch pail to every snap, wins with strength regularly and is built like a first-rounder.
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