LOS ANGELES — Jared Verse knows how to find the spotlight, even when his Rams teammates are in the midst of bragging about him on the opposite side of the field. 

That impeccable timing for turning the attention in his direction flashed on Friday when defensive tackle Braden Fiske was asked about Verse’s special first season in the NFL, which ended with him winning Defensive Rookie of the Year and riling up Eagles fans before a dominant postseason performance.  

“There he is right now in the middle of the field trying to egg them on,” says Fiske as Verse waved his hands up in the air to encourage fans to get louder. “Not at all surprised. I knew what was coming [Verse’s dominant rookie year]. I knew what we were capable of, so seeing it come to fruition was pretty special because now we know where we set the bar. Now we’re chasing something even bigger.”

Verse knows how to take center stage, but the Rams’ defensive front is loaded with talent, including Fiske, who also had an impressive rookie season with 8.5 sacks. In a quick span, the Rams managed to replace Aaron Donald, the legendary defensive tackle who commanded the spotlight for a decade, with one of the deepest defensive fronts in the league. 

The Rams are hoping the defensive front doesn’t have to carry such a heavy workload in 2025 with an offense that received a boost from the offseason addition of wide receiver Davante Adams. But the team has gotten a glimpse of what life could be without quarterback Matthew Stafford, who’s been sidelined to start training camp due to back soreness. 

Obviously, the team would rather have Stafford start games over backup Jimmy Garoppolo, but there’s a possibility of Stafford not being around after the 2025 season, possibly putting more attention and pressure on the young defense to be the strength of the team for years to come. Figuring out Stafford’s future beyond this season can wait, because GM Les Snead and coach Sean McVay have formed a balanced team that’s capable of competing for a Super Bowl. The offense has Stafford, Adams, star receiver Puka Nacua and productive running back Kyren Williams, who could soon re-sign if his agent and the team continue to progress with contract negotiations. 

The defense has some questions in the back end, but they have a quality rotation of defensive backs, with Quentin Lake, Kamren Kinchens, Kamren Curl and Darious Williams. This team could get by without a true shutdown corner because of the surplus of pass rushers. 

Kobie Turner, another core player from the defensive line, received daily guidance from Donald as a rookie in 2023 and passed that knowledge on to Verse and Fiske, the Florida State teammates who were drafted together by the Rams last season, with Verse taken in the first round and Fiske in the second.

“Kobie is dominant on both sides,” Fiske says. “He has some of the best hand clean-up I’ve seen. In the run game, he’s super dominant because he’s so smart. He sees a lot of the things before they happen based on formation. That’s so much of what I’ve taken from his game. … I’m very lucky to be able to line up next to Kobie because he has helped elevate my game so much from that standpoint and a competition standpoint.”

The young defensive line produced results quickly during Los Angeles’s first season without Donald, who’s now somewhat of a personal trainer in his retirement, taking Verse under his wing and putting him through his grueling workouts this offseason. 

Now, Verse, Fiske, Turner, third-year edge rusher Byron Young and the rest of the defensive front are ready to build on what they did last season. Even without much experience last season, the Rams’ defensive front gave the Eagles’ stacked offense plenty of fits in a divisional matchup that came down to the wire before Philadelphia closed out the 28–22 victory in what was perhaps the Eagles’ toughest game en route to winning Super Bowl LIX. L.A.’s defense gave the offense an extra opportunity to pull off the playoff upset when they forced Philly into a three-and-out drive, but Stafford couldn’t connect with Nacua on a critical fourth down.

“We know how good of a team we were and how much better of a team we can be this year just based on the guys that we have coming back, the culture that we have established here, the way we work,” Fiske says. “When you come out to one of these practices, we have fun, but we grind, when it’s time to get after it, we get after it. … I couldn’t be more excited to take the field with these guys.” 

The Rams had a laidback Friday practice, which started with the defensive front forming a circle to play a variety of games, including hot potato and tug of war with the football. But as Fiske said, they’ll be all business when the season starts in September. 

Best thing I saw: Verse waves to ’Noles fan 

Verse stopped and pointed to the fan in the stands holding up a Florida State No. 5 Verse jersey. That fan got a picture with the second-year star edge rusher after practice. 

Best thing I heard: Nacua a fan of spam musubi

Nacua’s favorite food might be spam musubi because he stopped his conversation with wide receiver Tutu Atwell and smiled when he heard a fan scream that he’s willing to trade the Hawaiian snack for an autograph after practice. 

I’m not sure if the trade happened, but Nacua signed plenty of autographs as fans chanted his first name, “Puka!”

Rookie who impressed: Hunter makes plays

There wasn’t much to see during the laidback Friday practice, especially because the quarterbacks technically didn’t attempt a pass. It was all about working on the running game, giving more opportunities for rookie running back Jarquez Hunter, the rookie fourth-round pick out of Auburn.

Hunter could form a productive backfield rotation with Williams and second-year player Blake Corum.

Veteran who impressed: Dotson paints gold horns on his hair  

Again, there weren’t many plays on the field, but Kevin Dotson’s hair was very impressive. The guard dyed his hair blue and gold with the sides painted in the shape of horns. In a way, Dotson was the only player who sported the look of the team’s helmets while others wore bucket hats on the laidback day.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rams Training Camp Report: Jared Verse, Braden Fiske Ready to Lead Defense .

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