The Los Angeles Rams don’t often have early picks in the draft, so it can become difficult for them to target some of the best athletes in the class. This year, however, they were equipped with the 19th overall pick and then traded up from No. 52 to 39 to take Braden Fiske after already selecting Jared Verse – two terrific athletes from Florida State.
Athleticism isn’t everything in the NFL and if there’s one team that proves it, it’s the Rams with Cooper Kupp, Puka Nacua and Jordan Fuller. However, it does help raise the floor of a prospect if he’s a good athlete who can win with speed or power.
Using Kent Lee Platte’s Relative Athletic Scores (RAS), we’re evaluating the overall athleticism of the Rams’ class with scores for each player based on their pre-draft testing. As a team, it ranks 23rd among all draft classes this year, but that’s partly because of their Day 3 picks.
Round 1, No. 19: OLB Jared Verse, Florida State
Verse is a terrific athlete who put up similar testing numbers to Myles Garrett in 2017 from the standpoint of his strength, 40-yard dash time and arm length. While his short-area quickness speed was just good, he’s elite in the explosiveness and speed departments.
Round 2, No. 39: DT Braden Fiske, Florida State
Fiske absolutely dominated the NFL combine this year, ranking first at his position in the 40-yard dash, vertical, broad jump and 10-yard split. He’s going to have an early impact at defensive tackle with the way he moves.
Round 3, No. 83: RB Blake Corum, Michigan
Corum makes up for his lack of size and straight-line speed with rare quickness, scoring elite marks in the agility drills. He may only be 5-foot-8, but he’s as elusive as anyone.
Round 3, No. 99: S Kamren Kinchens, Miami
The Rams are betting on Kinchens’ play speed being better than his testing speed, which is evident when you watch his tape. Slower players have never scared them off before and they’re taking another chance on one with Kinchens, who only ran a 4.65 in the 40.
Round 5, No. 154: OLB Brennan Jackson, Washington State
Jackson is a bigger defender at nearly 6-4 and 264 pounds but he still has good speed and quickness for a player his size. His 10-yard split of 1.61 seconds graded out as being great, as did his 40-yard dash and short shuttle.
Round 6, No. 196: DT Tyler Davis, Clemson
Davis is actually fairly fast for a 301-pound defensive tackle, running an impressive 5.02 with a 1.71 10-yard split, showing he gets off the line quickly. His short shuttle time was slow, however, so his lateral quickness may be lacking.
Round 6, No. 209: K Joshua Karty, Stanford
Unsurprisingly, there are no scores for Karty. He didn’t do any of the athletic testing at the combine or pro day.
Round 6, No. 213: WR Jordan Whittington, Texas
Whittington didn’t do any testing at the combine because of a hamstring injury, so he’s without an RAS, as well. He did put up 18 reps on the bench press, though, which is a good number for a 205-pound wide receiver That ranked fifth at his position at the combine.
Round 6, No. 217: OL Beaux Limmer, Arkansas
Limmer is a special athlete, especially for a sixth-round pick. He had seven more reps on the bench press than any other offensive lineman and his 36.5-inch vertical was the third-best at his position. His combination of athleticism and power on the interior of the offensive line could earn him an opportunity to play down the road.
Round 7, No. 254: OL KT Leveston, Kansas State
Leveston is a big, big man at 326 pounds in a 6-foot-4 frame. Understandably, he didn’t test very well at the combine with a 5.38 in the 40 and a short shuttle time of 4.89 seconds, but interior O-line isn’t all about athleticism.
Complete 2024 class
According to Kent Lee Platte, the Rams ranked 23rd among all 2024 draft classes in total RAS with a score of 7.745. They started the draft off by targeting athletic prospects, but on Day 3, they took a kicker with no score and a wideout who was injured at the combine. That hurt their overall RAS, but their top picks were some of the best athletes at their positions in this class.
