Most essential Colts No. 12: Is Laiatu Latu ready to be the top edge rusher?
In a salary-cap league like the NFL, finding building blocks is essential. As teams churn and burn the roster through the draft and bargain signings in free agency, it helps to find the players who are either a cut above the rest or can perform a task few others can. They relieve the pressure on everyone.
Over the next few weeks, we'll be ranking the 15 most essential players to the Colts' success in 2024. It's a subjective process, weighing factors such as ability, positional value within a scheme, age, leadership and durability.
To make it simpler, we're asking the following two questions about these players:
1. How difficult would he be to replace for more than a month?
2. What does the Colts' 2024 ceiling become if this player hits his?
With the return of Anthony Richardson from shoulder surgery, the Colts’ outlook is on the future but also on the present after a 9-8 season fell a fourth-down conversion short of winning the AFC South. This list will primarily look at 2024 value, but certain players' development for the long-term can help to break ties along the way.
Here's the list so far:
14. Zaire Franklin, linebacker
Today, we continue with No. 12, Laitu Latu.
Position: Defensive end
Age: 23
Experience: 1st season
Last year's rank: N/A
Why he's here: When the Colts landed the No. 15 pick in the NFL Draft this spring, they expected to land a good player. They had no idea he would be the first defender taken in this year's draft.
Laiatu Latu ended up being the Colts' consolation prize to missing out on Danielle Hunter in free agency, but they were ecstatic to land him nonetheless. That speaks to just how much they believe in his polish and are content with his medicals.
Latu lost two years to neck issues at Washington and had to transfer to UCLA to get the chance to play after cervical fusion surgery. But once he did, he was immaculate, racking up 23.5 sacks and 34 tackles-for-loss across two seasons. Last year, he won the Lombardi Trophy as the most dominant lineman on either side of the ball in college football. Teams knew he was coming to wreck their world, slid protection to his side and paid the price anyway.
Of course, that's a far way off from dominating in the NFL, and that's why you'll rarely see rookies on this list who aren't the starting quarterback. The unproven nature, the health concerns of a neck that Washington doctors couldn't clear three years ago and the depth of the Colts' edge rusher room works against Latu's floor. During the offseason program, he was not working with the starters, sitting instead behind Samson Ebukam and Kwity Paye, who both had more than eight sacks last season.
But the Colts drafted Latu here because they saw something more high-octane on third downs than they had in their current group. That was a pass rush that ranked fifth in the NFL with 51 sacks but couldn't beat teams in max protection late in the year. For so long, the Colts have drafted larger defensive ends. With the 6-foot-5, 259-pound Latu, they are going for the most ready-to-go upside as a pure pass rusher.
That carries a high ceiling if it hits. It's limited by the fact that he's a rookie, but a season with at least eight sacks in a limited role could wind up saving a secondary that has major concerns at cornerback and safety. On the high end, Latu can take a pass rush from good to great, which could in turn take the Colts from a 9-8 team to something to reckon with in the AFC playoffs.
We'll play it a little conservative for now, but no player has a chance of rising more from the top 15 on this list than this one.
Contact Nate Atkins at natkins@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @NateAtkins_.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Most essential Colts No. 12: DE Laiatu Latu
