Bona-fide “football guys” always stand out when evaluating football players. Florida State’s Braden Fiske is at the top of that list with his unending motor, a trait that defines his 2024 NFL Draft scouting report. Where does the Western Michigan transfer rank after 2023?
Braden Fiske’s Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 6’3 5/8″
- Weight: 297 pounds
- Length: 31″
- Wingspan: 76 3/4″
- Hand: 9 3/8″
- Position: DT
- School: Florida State
- Current Year: Redshirt Senior
Most college football watchers only saw Fiske once he emerged as a destructive force on Florida State’s defensive line. But he’s been a game-changer for a while — just a bit farther up north.
Fiske, who played his high school ball in Michigan City, Ind., joined the Western Michigan Broncos as a three-star recruit in 2018. And after redshirting in 2018, he immediately took on defensive reps in 2019.
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From 2020 to 2022, Fiske accumulated 12.5 sacks and 25 total tackles for loss for the Broncos, his efforts culminating in a standout 2022 campaign that saw him rack up six sacks, 12 total TFLs, three pass breakups, and three forced fumbles.
Florida State DT Braden Fiske was MOVING 😳
Near-300 pounder running a 4.78 40-yard dash.#NoleFamily | #NFLCombine
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) February 29, 2024
After the 2022 campaign, Fiske was one of the portal’s top transfer talents. He chose Tallahassee, Fla., as his next destination, lining up next to likely first-round pick Jared Verse.
Fiske made an impact right out of the gate, picking up three sacks and 4.5 total TFLs through the regular season. But he ultimately saved his best for last, doubling his season totals in a dominant ACC Championship Game showing.
Fiske’s success at the collegiate level earned him an invite to the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., where he impressed evaluators with his athleticism and relentless energy as a rusher.
Later, at the NFL Combine, Fiske tested as one of the best athletes ever recorded at the DT position. Even with his size, his 9.89 Relative Athletic Score (RAS) placed him in the top 20 all-time out of almost 1,750 DTs with recorded metrics.
At his size, Fiske is a supercharged athlete — his 4.78-second 40-yard dash, 33.5″ vertical, 9’9″ broad jump, and 4.37-second short-shuttle time all reflect this. But how do Fiske’s athletic numbers translate on tape? Let’s take a closer look.
Fiske’s Scouting Report
Strengths
- Sports a hyperdense, compact frame with good overall mass.
- Has great explosiveness and snap timing and carries bristling energy into contact.
- For his size, packs impressive knock-back power into initial extensions.
- Can use his build-up speed and power to slant inside from 5-tech or rush from 3-tech.
- Urgent, hyperactive leg churn and drive help him magnify and sustain power exertions.
- Has the play strength to stack solo blocks and peek, controlling gaps.
- Can violently torque through edge-setters at 5-tech and engulf runners in close pursuit.
- With lower- and upper-body strength, can absorb and pry through double-teams.
- Has superb feel for leverage in run defense, aligning his base and getting below blocks.
- Has good hand placement on anchors and can latch under pads to control leverage.
- Can get under pass blocks and wrench upward with powerful forklift moves on advance.
- Can stack rip moves off initial power shocks, capitalizing on reeling offensive linemen.
- Able to off-set blockers with twitch, then attack gaps with outside club-rip combos.
- Plays with a turbocharged motor on every down, exuding energy and aggression.
- Willing to chase plays across the field in pursuit and is the quintessential hustle player.
Weaknesses
- Length is below average, which visibly detracts from maximum power and torque.
- Lacking length sometimes impacts his ability to shed cleanly after stacking linemen.
- Sometimes experiences delays when trying to stack moves off initial power exertions.
- Lacks the mass to prevent displacement consistently against combo blocks.
- While explosiveness is exceptional, he doesn’t quite have elite first-step quickness.
- Has noticeable hip stiffness stunting outside and can’t roll his midsection past blocks.
- Hip stiffness sometimes tugs him upright when stunting, detracting base load and power.
- Lack of torso flexibility prevents him from prying past blocks with angle advantages.
- Doesn’t have the ankle flexion to reduce penetration angles while invading gaps.
- Sometimes sacrifices his balance trying to peel off anchors and block running lanes.
- Can’t use length or flexibility as corrective fail-safes when balance is threatened.
- Will be a 24-year-old rookie.
Current Draft Projection and Summary
Fiske grades out as a top-75 prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft. He’s worthy of consideration in the mid-Day 2 range but could go off the board even earlier on account of his athletic testing and relentless on-field energy, the latter of which is sure to win over coaches.
At around 6’4″, 297 pounds, with visibly below-average arm length, poor overall flexibility, and advanced age as a 24-year-old rookie, Fiske has a few cosmetic factors working against him. But one trait of his will win over evaluators across the board: his motor.
Choose whatever analogy you want — he’s got that dog mentality — but he takes it up a notch. He eats nails for breakfast. However you want to describe it, Fiske’s motor is unhinged. On every play, he simply wants it more than his opponent, and that can make the difference.
Fiske’s hyper-elite motor makes him a formidable playmaking threat on every down, but his profile offers appeal beyond that, too. Despite his average size and mass, he has good overall play strength and leverage in run defense and carries menacing shock in his hands.
Meanwhile, as a pass rusher, Fiske has superb initial explosiveness and snap timing, a formidable power profile, hands that are always active and combative, and the closing speed and urgency to make the most of lanes to the QB.
KEEP READING: Top DTs in the 2024 NFL Draft
Fiske’s lack of flexibility detracts from his upside, but the Florida State DT still has impressive alignment versatility. In his time with the Seminoles, he set the edge at 5-tech, stunted across angled paths from 5-tech and 1-tech, and won 1-on-1 up the B-gap against guards in the 3-tech position.
Ultimately, Fiske profiles as an immediate rotational asset in a defensive-line rotation, with the explosiveness, strength, power, energy, and violent hands to be a disruptive presence in both phases. He has enough in his toolbox to be a solid starter.
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