Colts' Laiatu Latu Ready to Prove He's The Best Defender in NFL Draft

The Indianapolis Colts took the first defensive player of the 2024 NFL Draft in Laiatu Latu, who wants to affirm they made the right choice.

UCLA Bruins defensive lineman Laiatu Latu poses after being selected by the Indianapolis Colts as the No. 15 pick in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

As the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft reached the picks in the middle teens, Laiatu Latu thought he had some time to relax.

His agent told the former UCLA Bruin he did not expect Latu to be taken within the next few picks. At that point, no defensive players had even been selected. Latu could sit back, take a breather, and maybe calm the nerves that every draftee has on their big day.

That is when the phone rang, and Latu received a call from a 317 area code. The Indianapolis Colts and general manager Chris Ballard were on the other line, welcoming Latu to Indy. To say Latu was surprised may be an understatement.

"I wasn't even expecting to get picked up by the Colts, honestly," Latu revealed after he was drafted. "I didn't talk to them my whole pre-draft (process) and then that phone call came up from Indianapolis and I'm just like, 'Dang, my agent just told me don't worry about the next couple picks.' And then I get the call, and I'm a Colt."

The Colts selected Latu with the No.15 pick in the NFL draft on Thursday night, making the pass rusher the first defensive player taken in this year's class. Pick No.15 is the highest any draft has gone before the first defender has come off the board. Luckily for the Colts, they obtained the top defender on their board halfway through the first round.

Apr 25, 2024; Detroit, MI, USA; UCLA Bruins defensive lineman Laiatu Latu greets NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after being selected by the Indianapolis Colts as the No. 15 pick in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Latu has one of the most fascinating stories of anyone in the entire draft. Before his sophomore season with the Washington Huskies, Latu suffered a neck injury during fall practices and missed the 2020 season. It was determined Latu had a nerve injury that required neck fusion surgery, the same procedure former Colts' quarterback Peyton Manning underwent in 2011.

After the surgery, Washington team doctors determined that the neck did not heal sufficiently enough for Latu to continue playing football. Doctors forced Latu to medically retire, but he did not believe this was the end of his football career. He was not satisfied with the doctors' findings nor how they came to their conclusions.

"At that time it was Covid and it was just a funky time and it just wasn't handled in the right way," Latu remarked. "I didn't have any physical examinations with any doctor at that time so really it was just an opinion of somebody's without even looking at my physical, without giving me a test and stuff like that. So, I feel like they were just doing what they felt best but at the same time I feel like it wasn't really handled in the best way."

Latu was out of football for all of 2021, but that did not mean he had given up on one day playing the game he loved. The pass rusher continued to rehab his neck while working on his craft. He decided to enter the transfer portal and found a home at UCLA. Latu was determined to step on the field again and play at a high level, using those who doubted him as motivation.

"Just being told that you'll never be able to play football again and that whole time really just grinding just to prove all those people that told me I wouldn't be able to play football again that I can do it again," Latu elaborated. "I know myself, I trust in myself, and I trust in the Lord. And I know that He's got a plan for me."

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God's plan went into motion for Latu, as he was cleared for full-contact football activities by UCLA team physicians in the spring of 2022. Latu was examined by Dr. Robert Watkins, the same physician who cleared Manning to return 10 years earlier. Once he received the green light, Latu set out to show the rest of the college football world what he could accomplish.

Latu quickly ascended to one of the most feared pass rushers in all of college football over the next two seasons. In 25 games at UCLA, Latu finished with 85 tackles, 34 tackles for loss, 23.5 sacks, five forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, two interceptions, and three passes defended. Latu was named a unanimous All-American in 2023, winning the Rotary Lombardi Award (best college football lineman) and the Ted Hendricks Award (best defensive end in college football).

While Latu more than proved his ability on the field, questions about his medicals were prevalent through the NFL draft process. Latu expected teams wanted to get a first-hand look to determine whether there were any lingering effects from the surgery.

"Throughout this whole time period, it's just a bunch of poking and prodding at the medicals and stuff like that," Latu said. "A lot of teams knew my character and stuff like that, but the medicals, they just had to make sure they checked off. But other than that, I wasn't poked around too much. I had a really good pre-draft experience."

After going through numerous checks, Latu passed every time, leaving no concerns for the Colts. With his medicals checking out, and his play and football character off the charts, it is easy to see why Ballard called Latu one of the four or five elite players in this class.

Latu brings a pass-rushing prowess the Colts do not currently have on their team. The 23-year-old is a natural pass rusher who can bend around offensive tackles and uses a bevy of moves to get after opposing quarterbacks. While Latu does not reach the typical length and explosive thresholds the Colts hold for their pass rushers, he is still a fantastic athlete who registered a 9.37 RAS throughout the pre-draft process. Latu is a very polished prospect who can use whatever move is needed to beat whoever he is lined up against.

Sep 16, 2023; Pasadena, California, USA; UCLA Bruins defensive lineman Laiatu Latu (15) celebrates after intercepting a pass against the North Carolina Central Eagles during the first half. / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

"I'm someone that can be comfortable in any uncomfortable situation," Latu explained. "That's how I look at pass rushing. I've got a bunch of moves in my repertoire. I mean, I have three main moves but I make sure that I'm dialed down with a lot of moves because you never know what's going to come out of you come game time. That muscle memory is just going to kick in and when you feel that uncomfortable feeling, your comfortability is going to take over. That's me as a pass rusher."

Latu also has a connection to the Colts already. Latu has spent the offseason training with Eddy McGilvra out in California, who also serves as the private coach for current Colts defensive linemen Kwity Paye, Dayo Odeyingbo, Samson Ebukam, and Adetomiwa Adebawore. Latu already has a close relationship with Paye, and the two will now get to terrorize quarterbacks alongside one another.

"Shoot, I'm going to be looking up to Kwity Paye a lot," Latu admitted. "I've been able to train with him with Coach Eddy and just learn a lot from him and take after him. Yesterday I had asked about his vitamin supplement plan, so, he put me on that. So, I just can't wait to get in the building. I look up to a lot of those dudes and I want to show them what I can do as well."

Coming into Thursday night, most thought the Colts would take a pass catcher or a cornerback in the first round. If they did select a pass rusher, the name that came up the most was Dallas Turner from Alabama (now with the Minnesota Vikings). But the pick ended up being Latu, the top defender on the Colts' draft board and who they believe to be an elite player. Latu wants to ensure they chose correctly by making him the first defensive player selected in the 2024 NFL Draft.

"It means the world to me and I just can't wait to get in the building and just prove that."

The player comps given to Latu throughout the pre-draft process were T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Trey Hendrickson of the Cincinnati Bengals. If Latu reaches that ceiling, the Colts could have their first dominant pass rusher since Robert Mathis.

Given what Latu has been through, do not be surprised if he reaches his full potential.

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