The Rams have made a significant move to pick up another defensive player.
Los Angeles acquired the No. 39 overall pick from Carolina to select defensive tackle Braden Fiske.
Fiske, 24, spent last season at Florida State after spending five seasons with Western Michigan. He was a second-team All-ACC honoree in 2023 after recording 6.0 sacks with 9.0 tackles for loss.
He was a second-team All-MAC honoree in 2022 after recording 6.0 sacks with 12.0 tackles for loss along with two forced fumbles and three passes defensed.
In all, Fiske played 58 games with 43 starts in college and had 19.5 sacks with 36.5 tackles for loss.
The Rams also selected edge rusher Jared Verse out of Florida State on Thursday night.
Los Angeles sent Carolina No. 52 in the second round, No. 155 in the fifth round, and a second-round pick in 2025 to complete the trade for No. 39.
South Carolina receiver Xavier Legette gave away the Panthers’ plan three days before the draft, saying Carolina had promised to draft him 33rd overall if he fell into the second round. Panthers coach Dave Canales laughed off Legette’s disclosure as something he said to many prospects.
After the Panthers traded up into the first round Thursday night to draft Legette with the 32nd overall pick, Canales admitted the truth.
“We loved him. I’m not gonna sit here and lie about that,” Canales said, via Joe Person of TheAthletic.com. “But I meant what I said: There’s a lot of guys we were excited about at that area.”
Even without Legette spilling the beans, the Panthers tipped their hand by fawning over Legette. Legette said he had a feeling as far back as the Senior Bowl that the Panthers had serious interest, interest which continued through the pre-draft process.
“We had three days we had to meet with teams and each day I had to meet with the Panthers,” Legette said, via Kassidy Hill of the team website. “That’s when I realized, OK, they really want me, and then I just kept meeting me with them.”
The Panthers sent their 33rd and 141st pick to the Bills to move into the first round and take their target.
“He was our target,” General Manager Dan Morgan said. “We really liked him, and we went and got him.”
In Legette’s only season as a full-time starter, he made 71 receptions for 1,255 yards and seven touchdowns with Spencer Rattler as his quarterback.
The Panthers have reportedly made a decision about their option on cornerback Jaycee Horn’s contract for the 2025 season.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the team will exercise the option ahead of next week’s deadline. Horn will have a guaranteed salary of $12.472 million as a result of the move.
The move comes despite Horn missing 29 games due to injuries over his first three seasons. The most recent issue was a hamstring injury that cost Horn most of the 2023 season, but the Panthers appear to be betting that better days are ahead on the health front.
When Horn has been healthy enough to play, the eighth overall pick of the 2021 draft has recorded 85 tackles, four interceptions and 13 passes defensed.
The good news, if there is any, is that no drinks were thrown.
Panthers owner David Tepper, who has combined a hot temper with thin skin, stayed true to form on Thursday. Via Alex Zietlow of the Charlotte Observer, Tepper saw a sign outside a Charlotte bar that said: “Please Let The Coach & GM Pick This Year.”
So Tepper went inside to ask about the sign.
Matt Wohlfarth, owner of the bar, was gone by the time Tepper arrived.
“It sounded a bit more on the joking side,” Wohlfarth said. “But also a bit mad. Otherwise he would’ve stopped in and had a drink.”
Here’s the security video of the incident. He removes the hat of one of the workers, for reasons that aren’t apparent. He can be heard asking about the sign. Within a minute, he’s gone.
Wolfarth explained the reason for his decision to send a message that was received.
“It’s just, you gotta stay in your lane,” Wohlfarth said. “This is not really an attack on anyone or anything. This is me expressing frustration because, believe it or not, I actually lose more of my income when the Panthers lose than he does.”
One word keeps coming to mind when watching the video. Why? Tepper got off with a wrist slap after throwing a drink on fans in Jacksonville. Did he learn nothing from that?
Apparently not. That’s what happens when the punishment is basically pocket change.
Still, if Tepper keeps throwing drinks and/or taking people’s hats off their heads and/or otherwise failing to resist the temptation to react to any actual or perceived insult, the price will inevitably go up.
A report this week indicated that the Cowboys have a lot of interest in drafting running back Jonathon Brooks and team owner Jerry Jones didn’t play coy when asked about Brooks on Thursday night.
Brooks is coming off a torn ACL, but ran 187 times for 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns for Texas before getting hurt last season. That’s put him at the top of the list of running back prospects — none were drafted in the first round — and Jones confirmed that the Cowboys have liked what they’ve seen.
“In my 30 years I thought it was the best interview that I ever interviewed with a player,” Jones said, via Todd Archer of ESPN.com. “He’s outstanding. And he’s a great football player. We got him high, high, high. And he’s a good player.”
The other part of the report about the Cowboys’ interest in Brooks was that they’re concerned about the Eagles taking him at No. 53 before the Cowboys can do so with the 56th pick. Jones’ comments likely caught the ears of any team that may have Brooks on their radar, so Jones and company may need to move up unless they are playing a long game in hopes of making sure someone else drops to them on Friday night.
