UCLA Football: Bruins Star Projected To Local Team In Latest NFL Mock Draft

He'd be another high Bruin draft pick.

I know it may feel like the season just started, but we're just over halfway through the college football season. 

And with that, stars around the sport are polishing up their resume's ahead of football's biggest job interview -- the NFL draft. 

And a current UCLA Bruins star is making his presence felt both around the Pac-12 and in NFL circles. 

UCLA edge Laiatu Latu was projected as a first round pick in The Athletic's latest 2024 NFL mock draft (as compiled by Nick Baumgardner and Diante Lee of The Athletic) -- and he wouldn't have to go very far if that comes to pass. 

Latu was named as the No. 23 overall pick by the Los Angeles Chargers in the mock, so he'd be plying his trade just down the 110 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. 

The senior has been a standout in his two seasons as a Bruin, and he's built on a Preseason All-Pac-12 First Team selection by once again being a game-wrecker on the defensive line. 

Latu's compiled 5.5 sacks and nine tackles for loss in UCLA's first six games, proving his reputation as one of the best defensive linemen in both the Pac-12 and the country. 

In a season that's been hampered by inconsistency, Latu has been a constant for UCLA, and that doesn't figure to change any time soon. 

Here's what The Athletic had to say about him. 

"Latu is PFF’s highest-rated defender in college football through six games (29 pressures and a 23.3-percent win rate). There are injury concerns from Latu’s past — he briefly retired because of a neck injury — but his production when healthy has been undeniable. He’s not the explosive athlete the edges at the top of the board are, but he’s a first-round pass rusher in this class if the medicals check out."

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Nick Baumgardner of The Athletic

Latu has made his mark at the Rose Bowl, and he's poised to be the latest in a long line of UCLA draft picks. 

In recent years, cornerback Darnay Holmes, defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa, and running backs Joshua Kelley and Zach Charbonnet have been just a select few to make their mark in the NFL, and it's just a matter of time until Latu is the next. 

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