Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Braden Fiske speaks highly of his new head coach, Sean McVay: … [+]
Los Angeles Rams rookie defensive lineman Braden Fiske enters his first year with high expectations.
As acknowledged before, Fiske is aware that he’ll have “big shoes to fill” in replacing future Hall of Fame defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who announced his retirement after 10 seasons in the offseason. Not only is Fiske tasked in helping replace the greatest defensive tackle of his generation, he also has to live up to expectations after the Rams gave up heavy draft capital to move up to No. 39 to select the Florida State alum.
While the 6-foot-4 Fiske has yet to participate in his first training camp, he’s confident in himself after going through minicamp and getting a taste of what it’s like to play with NFL veterans. In fact, he downplays the adjustment curve in going from the college ranks to the pros.
“At the end of the day — like I said — it’s just football,” says Fiske in an exclusive one-on-one interview. “Everything starts to click pretty quick once you kind of get the terminology down. You kind of understand what the expectation is of your position. I think the transition has been pretty smooth.
The 24-year-old Fiske actually spent six seasons in college — five at Western Michigan and his last at Florida State — so he’s a bit more seasoned than your average rookie. In fact, Fiske played 58 games at the collegiate level. By comparison, his FSU and current Rams rookie teammate Jared Verse played 39 games in college.
That level of experience obviously gives Fiske a bit of an advantage as he makes his transition to the pros, where he’s expected to start in his rookie season. Fiske goes into further detail why he’s so confident after getting some work in the trenches during the first five weeks after he was drafted at the end of April.
“I think OTAs as a whole are really good for rookies in general,” explains Fiske. “I think it’s really good to get out there and get to feel the spread of the game. You get to be out there with the guys that have been doing it. You get to put yourself in position to know where you stand — physically, mentally, what you need to work on. I thought it went really well for me for the first five weeks that we were out there. And I think it’s a good prep for what I’m going to see in training camp.”
While Fiske may be confident in himself after going through the first test of his NFL career, he does acknowledge the learning curve that comes with becoming a pro after spending the past six years as a college athlete. He mentions the “speed” of the game and having to be more aware of things going on on the field during the pre and post snap.
“Guys are smart,” says Fiske of his teammates. “Guys have been doing this for a long time. They see certain things. They’ve been running in this system for a few more years than I have. It’s been a great living experience and I’m just excited to grow and build on what we started here.”
While Fiske is obviously making a major adjustment when it comes to geography — he’s going from Tallahassee, Florida to Los Angeles, California — the biggest adjustment may not be so much on the field as it is off of the field. Fiske — who works out five-to-six days a week — says the “biggest difference” from college to the pros is that you’re with your team every day in college. By comparison, you’re “riding solo” when it comes to offseason workouts in the NFL.
“The biggest difference now compared to college, you’re with your team every day in the offseason,” reveals Fiske. “Working out right now (in the NFL), you’re kind of riding solo. You get your workout — which I think is a cool part — because that’s kind of how you separate yourself in a way.”
Fiske goes into detail of what a typical workout day looks like for him, including getting to the Rams’ facility just before 7 a.m. and working out for about four hours a day.
“I get to the facility about 6:45, seven o’clock,” says Fiske of his workout days. “That’s when I eat, get ready, do my pre-warm up in the training room to get ready. I get my lift in first. After I lift, I go do my speed work. Right after speed, I hit about 15-to-30 minutes of position where you just sharpen the sword a little bit. Sometimes it goes over from feeling that there’s some things I need to hit. But then usually after that, I hit my recovery. I have things that I work my trainers with — body wise — to get better. I try to keep a pretty good balance without being here too long. But also while getting everything I need to get done.”
Outside of obviously being more experienced and a bit older compared to his rookie peers, Fiske also has the advantage of landing in a great situation. While there will obviously be high expectations in replacing a legend such as Donald, Fiske is playing for a team coming off of a playoff appearance and a little more than two years removed from a Super Bowl win. Furthermore, he’ll be playing alongside stars such as Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, Puka Nacua and one of the best coaches in the league, Sean McVay.
While Fiske has yet to have long conversations so far with his new head coach, he speaks of the impact McVay has already had on him and why he’s looking forward to playing for the 38-year-old head coach.
“He’s been great through the whole process in general,” says Fiske. “I wouldn’t say we’ve had any crazy, noteworthy conversations (so far). But I see the man every day, which is pretty cool, little things in the hallway. He’s always telling me ‘good job.’ Giving me pointers, telling me what I need to work on.
Fiske actually compares McVay to his former head coach, Florida State’s Mike Norvel..
“He’s a good head coach,” Fiske says of McVay. “He’s real consistent. He’s actually very similar to what I had at Florida State with head coach Mike Norvell. They have similar energy in practice. That’s been a cool transition. He’s a good dude. I’m excited to work with him. It’s going to be fun. It’s a really good organization to be a part of.”