Let’s take a closer look at this Indianapolis Colts team as we go player-by-player through the roster. Up next is DE Laiatu Latu.
With offseason programs now behind us, we will be getting a jump start on our training camp preview by going player-by-player through the Indianapolis Colts’ 91-man roster.
Going alphabetically up next is defensive end Laiatu Latu.
Laiatu Latu’s profileHeight: 6-5Weight: 265Age: 24NFL experience: 1 seasonCollege: UCLANo. 972024 Snap count totalsDefense: 618Special teams: 92024 PFF gradesDefense: 72.1Special teams: 59.42024 Season Review
The bulk of Latu’s snaps during his rookie season came during passing situations. However, as a run defender, we saw him improve in that phase of the game as the year went on.
Pass rush-wise, Latu finished the season with 38 pressures and four sacks. On the Colts specifically, Latu finished second in pressures and third in sacks.
Compared to his position group league-wide, Latu was 47th in pressures during the regular season, and he was 73rd in PFF’s pass rush productivity, which is a pass rush efficiency metric.
“This year, I really want to shave off those milliseconds of where I’m getting to the QB because I felt that,” Latu said earlier this offseason, via Locked on Colts. “Like a lot of times, my head and my hands I was right there. So really just shaving off those milliseconds and knowing when I can fall back inside, and when they’re working off power. So there’s a lot of stuff I’ve been getting better at.”
Looking ahead to the 2025 season
A jump from Latu in his second NFL season will be a near-must for the Colts’ defense. With Dayo Odeyingbo now in Chicago, that is a lot of production that has to be replaced, and while doing that will be a group effort, Latu’s growth is likely a key part of that equation internally.
On paper, the numbers mentioned above from Latu’s rookie season won’t jump off the page, but one reason Latu can make that Year 2 leap is that he did win consistently last season. By PFF’s pass rush win rate metric, Latu ranked 27th among defensive ends, and oftentimes, when a player wins his matchups regularly, the production will follow.
Also helping Latu and the rest of the Colts’ defensive front should be the addition of Lou Anarumo as defensive coordinator. Anarumo’s more aggressive and disguise-heavy scheme can hopefully provide the pass rush with additional time to get home, something they didn’t have a lot of last season, with quarterbacks often using the quick passing game against the Colts’ secondary.
“He does it the right way,” Shane Steichen said of Latu via the team site at the NFL annual meeting. “The way he works, his work ethic is tremendous. I think you’ll see a big jump from Year 1 to Year 2. I think he had four (sacks) his rookie year, if we can get into double digits in Year 2, that’d be tremendous.”