Indianapolis Colts rookie EDGE Laiatu Latu has been outstanding in recent showings. Latu was a bright spot for the Colts in Sunday's lopsided 24-6 defeat to the Detroit Lions. The first-round pass rusher is rounding into form at the opportune moment.
Latu recorded his fourth sack of the season on Sunday, his second in as many contests. It was his rookie-leading third strip-sack of the campaign. The first rep in this video compilation, Latu forced a fumble after defeating two-time Pro Bowl right tackle Penei Sewell en route to stripping Jared Goff of the ball.
The non-Jared Verse pass rushers have really improved over the 2nd half of the season. Looking more like UCLA Laiatu Latu the last couple weeks pic.twitter.com/dNsSJRRKUU
— James Foster (@NoFlagsFilm) November 25, 2024
Latu sacked Goff in 3.2 seconds, according to Next Gen Stats, just slightly about the league-average time of snap-to-sack. Latu's average separation from Goff was 4.3 yards, a team-best for the Colts on Sunday. It was better than the NFL average of 4.57 yards.
Latu was borderline unstoppable versus the Lions' excellent offensive tackles. The former UCLA standout posted a season-high pass-rushing grade of 90.8, per Pro Football Focus. Latu was credited with accumulating five quarterback pressures and the aforementioned sack.
Latu now ranks third on the Colts in sacks with 4.0 sacks, trailing just Kwity Paye (5.5) and DeForest Buckner (4.5). If Latu's recent form continues down the stretch of the 2024 campaign, he could still climb Indianapolis' defensive leaderboard. Overall, the immediate contributor is helping the Colts post a 38% pass-rush-win-rate, per ESPN Stats & Info.
Over the previous two weeks, Latu ranks third in pass-rushing grades (90.2) among all qualifying EDGE defenders, veterans included. He also places fifth in overall defensive grade (87.9) and is tied for seventh in sacks with two quarterback takedowns. Latu's 19.6 pass-rush win rate (PRWR) ranks fifth-best in the league over that timeframe, and his 19.1% pressure rate since Week 9 is the best on the Colts.
Leading rookies in strip-sacks: Laiatu Latu💥 pic.twitter.com/EHhlhsFBSx
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) November 26, 2024
After a slow start to his rookie campaign, Latu is now displaying why he was a top-15 selection. His 31 pressures rank third among all rookie edge defenders. Jared Verse (49) and Chop Robinson (36) are the only first-year pass rushers to produce more pressures thus far.
Latu also ranks second among all rookie EDGEs in quarterback hits (nine). When weighing his quarterback production (sacks/hits/hurries) in the context of his actual pass-rushing opportunities, his 10.0% efficiency rate is second-best behind just Robinson (10.3%). Latu's season-long win rate of 18.6% is also behind just Robinson (21.6%) on the rookie leaderboard.
Dayo Odeyingbo is currently in a contract year, and Kwity Paye and Samson Ebukam will be entering the final seasons of their contracts in 2025. Drafting Latu and initially strengthening a strength also simultaneously prepared for the future. Latu is playing well enough to give the Colts financial flexibility at the position.
The Colts had high expectations for Latu this season. With sacks in consecutive contests, the first-year pass rusher is beginning to respond by being productive for a Colts defensive line that's littered with veteran contributors. Latu has started maximizing his opportunities.
