Laiatu Latu is a top-graded EDGE player in the 2024 NFL Draft. Latu started his college career in Washington in 2019. He was medically retired from football in 2021 as the University of Washington doctors wouldn’t medically clear Latu to play (he didn’t play football in 2020 or 2021). In 2022, Latu transferred to UCLA, where he was medically cleared to play football and finished as a member of the First-team All-Pac-12 Conference. In 2023, Latu won the Lombardi Award and the Pac-12 Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
The Indianapolis Colts drafted Latu at #15 overall (EDGE1) as the first defensive player in the 2024 NFL Draft. Latu joins a defensive line with a solid interior line with names like DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart. The Colts currently have Samson Ebukam, Kwity Paye, and Dayo Odeyingbo rostred and desperately need a premier EDGE rusher. Last season, the Colts had a three-EDGE rusher rotation as all three players finished the season with 623+ snaps, so Latu should be an immediate starter who can be highly fantasy-relevant from the moment he steps onto an NFL field in week 1. I expect Latu to be one of if not the first player taken in Dynasty IDP rookie drafts, and is also worth a mid-round pick in redraft formats.
| Height | Weight | College |
|---|---|---|
| 6’5″ | 260 | UCLA |
Strengths
Overcame a ton of adversity in college
Great instincts and reads an offense very well
High motor with patient timing at the line of scrimmage
Weaknesses
Medicals are in question despite playing the past two seasons at UCLA
Not phenomenal sideline-to-sideline speed
Average build at the NFL level
College Stats
2023: 12 Games, 49 Tackles, 21.5 Tackle For Loss, 13 Sacks, 2 Interceptions, 2 Pass Deflections, 2 Forced Fumble
2022: 13 Games, 36 Tackles, 12.5 Tackle For Loss, 10.5 Sacks, 1 Pass Deflection, 3 Forced Fumble, 1 Fumble Recovery
2019: 8 Games, 15 Tackles, 1.5 Tackle For Loss, .5 Sacks, 1 Pass Deflection
Highlights
Player Comparison
T.J. Watt: Lance Zierlein (NFL.com)
IDP Rookie Ranking
Laiatu Latu is RPO Football’s Rookie DL3 – The complete list can be found here: IDP Rookie Rankings
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