Rams Double-Dip Florida State Players in 2024 NFL Draft.

 By John Turney 

Braden Fiske and Jared Verse

What the Los Angeles Rams did the first two days of the 2024 draft was nothing unusual ... and I'm not talking about choosing two defensive players. I'm talking about choosing two defensive players from the same school.

On Thursday, they drafted edge player Jared Verse with the 19th overall pick. The following evening, they traded up in the second round to choose defensive interior Braden Fiske with the 39th selection. Both played at Florida State University, and if that sounds familiar it should. It's the fourth time the Rams have made back-to-back picks from one school with their first two picks in a draft.

And the others? Glad you asked:

-- The first was in 1945 when the Rams -- then in Cleveland -- took Michigan back Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch in the first round and lineman Milan Lazetich, also a Wolverine, in the second.

-- Forty-four years later, they had two first-round picks -- including one as part of the booty from the Eric Dickerson trade in 1987. With their first selection (the 21st overall) in the 1989 NFL draft, they chose defensive end Bill Hawkins out of the University of Miami (FL). Five picks later, they took Hurricanes' running back Cleveland Gary.

-- Finally, in 1992, they raided the University of Pittsburgh, picking defensive tackle Sean Gilbert in Round One and cornerback Steve Israel in the second round.

Of the three we can gauge, the 1945 picks were the most successful. 

Hirsch began his collegiate career at the University of Wisconsin but finished in Ann Arbor before serving in the Marine Corps. After his military service, he signed with the Chicago Rockets of the new All-America Football Conference (AAFC) rather than the NFL Rams but eventually ended up in Los Angeles in 1949 where he was moved from halfback to end.

The rest is history. Literally. 

When the Rams won the NFL championship in 1951, he led the league in catches, yards receiving, yards per catch, touchdown receptions and he had the season's longest play, a 91-yard reception. Hirsch is the only player to lead in all five official receiving stats in a single season.

While you've heard of Hirsch, you probably don't know about Milan Lazetich. He went by "Mike," but his nickname was "The Sheriff" long before Jon Gruden dubbed Peyton Manning with that moniker. He played both ways -- guard on offense, linebacker on the other side of the ball -- and he was good enough to be named All-Pro by International News Service, a wire service that was smaller than Associated Press and United Press.

It wasn't as prestigious as the others, but it did predate the AP All-Pro team by three years. So let's give him some credit. Plus, former Rams' owner the late Dan Reeves picked Lazetich to his all-time Rams' team shortly before his untimely death in 1971.

Elroy Hirsch

Contrast that with the 1989 iteration of double-dipping that didn't work out so well. Neither of the two picks were All-Pro, Pro Bowl or anything else by a wire service, major or minor. Bill Hawkins kept getting hurt, and Cleveland Gary kept fumbling - -24 times in 1,000 offensive touches -- as well as frustrating coaches. 

However, Gary's 14 touchdowns did tie for the NFL lead in 1990 when he ran for over 800 yards. Plus, two years later, he rushed for over 1,000.

Bill Hawkins

That same year -- 1992 -- Hawkins was trying to make his last stand. New Rams' coach Chuch Knox moved to a more orthodox 4-3 defense after one year of Jeff Fisher's 4-3 Bear-front in 1991 and one year prior to Fritz Shurmur's 3-4 in 1993. Hawkins had been hurt under Fisher and didn't fit the 3-4. But even when the Rams went to their Shurmur's innovative "Eagle" and "Hawk" defenses he played inside, and his production was minimal.

Hawkins did start at right defensive end in Knox's first year, but he was injured by midseason -- making it four-for-four in years where he played and was hurt, signaling the end of his career.

However, by that time, the Rams were already on to young defensive help. They chose defensive tackle Sean Gilbert and Steve Israel, a super-fast cornerback, in Rounds One and Two of the 1992 draft.

Gilbert was a good player --  he made the Pro Bowl in his second year and was a Pro Bowl alternate in 1995 -- but a contract dispute prior to the 1996 season had him traded to Washington for a first-round draft choice. Israel had rare speed (a 4.2 40), but he only started in his second season. After that, he was like Hawkins: He couldn't stay healthy. By his fourth year, he was a 49er ... by his sixth, a member of the New England Patriots ... and by his ninth -- his last-- with the New Orleans Saints.

So there you have it. Three times the Rams banked on one program at the top of the draft, and twice it didn't work out so well, for either of the highly valued picks.

Sean Gilbert

As for the 2024 iteration? Verse and Fiske each have a strong chance of starting this fall. The Rams needed to upgrade their edge pressure from 2023, and they lost two defensive interior players -- future Hall-of-Famer Aaron Donald and Jonah Williams. To fill those holes, they picked Verse to replace last year's starter, Michael Hoecht, and Fiske to follow Williams.

History is against them, but give them time. Both should be starters and contributing. Plus, given their talent, they could ... with the emphasis on could ... challenge the 1945 dynamic duo in productivity.