Most improved defensive lines after the 2024 NFL Draft: Rams, Dolphins add to their fronts

• Dolphins desperately needed the two defensive line players they chose: Chop Robinson and Mohamed Kamara will bolster a unit that was lacking some firepower before the 2024 NFL Draft.

• Rams are attempting to reload after Aaron Donald’s retirement: Los Angeles added several defensive line prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft, including Jared Verse and Braden Fiske in the first two rounds.

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LOS ANGELES RAMS

Additions:

Round 1, Pick 19: EDGE Jared Verse
Round 2, Pick 39: DI Braden Fiske
Round 5, Pick 154: EDGE Brennan Jackson
Round 6, Pick 196: DI Tyler Davis

The Rams added two contributing players to their defensive front last year in Kobie Turner and Byron Young. But they were once again looking to prioritize that spot in the 2024 draft, especially with Aaron Donald retiring. They made a heavy investment in the defensive trenches early and often, beginning with Florida State’s Jared Verse in the first round. They then traded up for Verse’s college teammate, defensive tackle Braden Fiske, in the second round.

On Day 3, Los Angeles went back to the defensive line well with Washington State edge rusher Brennan Jackson and Clemson defensive tackle Tyler Davis. Each one of these players will have a chance to make the roster and contribute to the youth movement of the team’s defensive line, with Fiske likely pairing with Turner in that three-technique pass rusher spot where Donald did so much damage.

The Los Angeles Rams had been widely expected by rival NFL franchises to trade into the top 10 in this year’s now-completed 2024 NFL Draft, writes Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.

Fowler notes that the club instead decided to hold onto the No. 19 pick, which it used on former Florida State edge rusher Jared Verse, who the Rams see as a possible replacement for now-retired 10-time Pro Bowler Aaron Donald. Verse became the third pass-rusher drafted, behind UCLA Bruin-turned-Indianapolis Colt Laiatu Latu, who was selected with the No. 15 pick, and Alabama Crimson Tide-turned-Minnesota Viking Dallas Turner. Some scouts, per Fowler, are actually higher on Verse than the other two.

A variety of rival teams thought Los Angeles would find its way into the top 10, hopefully to acquire Brock Bowers, a former All-American and John Mackey Award winner with the Georgia Bulldogs who wound up fall to AFC West rival the Las Vegas Raiders with the No. 13 selection.