Laiatu Latu may have been overshadowed as a rookie by fellow first round pass rusher Jared Verse, but in Year 2 Latu has broken out in a big way. A refined technician with a deep bag of moves and counters, Latu continued to sharpen his craft this past offseason, and the results speak for themselves. The sophomore leap Latu has taken in his first year in Lou Anarumo’s scheme has been nothing short of spectacular.
- Pressure Rate: 10.1% —> 17.9%
- Pass Rush Win Rate: 14% —> 22.6%
- Run Stop Percentage: 7.2% —> 11.6%
- Interceptions: 0 —> 2
Per PFF Grades, Latu Ranks amongst 124 Edge Defenders 17th in Run Defense, 20th in Pass Rush, and 1st in Coverage for an Overall grade of 89.9, 7th in the NFL. Anarumo has been able to use him as a chess piece, moving around the defensive alignment to play not just Defensive End, but Linebacker and even attack inside at Defensive Tackle on occasion. He can stop the run, he can drop back and make timely plays in coverage, but most importantly, Latu can rush the passer at an elite level.
He has heated up in recent weeks, ranking 4th in the NFL in Pressures since returning from injury to move 4th on the season in Pressure Rate (behind only Nik Bonitto, Jonathan Cooper, and Will Anderson Jr.).
But dear reader, there is one thing Latu lacks to set his reputation as an elite pass rusher in the NFL in stone…
Sacks.
The all mighty stat named by the LA Rams Fearsome Foursome member Deacon Jones. The name came from Jones equating hitting a Quarterback behind the Line to sacking a city (as well as “if “you put all the offensive players in one bag and I just take a baseball bat and beat on the bag”). If sacks are like sieges, then Laiatu Latu’s 2025 season thus far has been the Siege of Vienna in 1683… so close to a full success but at the last possible moment isn’t finished in sacking,
Yes those are two separate plays from just this past week. Latu was able to record a sack versus the Chargers, but it was only his 2nd of the season. Ironically both sacks came in SoFi Stadium against both LA teams, so he has yet to sack a QB outside of Inglewood this season.
Latu wins very consistently, but the issue is two-fold:
- Latu wins at an average speed, 3.06 seconds Time To Pressure ranks 52nd out of 97 Defensive Linemen, with 0 Quick Pressures (under 2.5 seconds) per Next Gen Stats
- Latu needs to tackle better, with 2 missed tackles on sack attempts this season.
If Latu can be a split second quicker in beating his man and wrap up QBs cleanly, his sack numbers will skyrocket. But with his top echelon pressure rate, it is only a matter time before Latu’s breakout results in the sacks he craves.
The Colts have faced 3 of the NFL’s top 10 Offensive Lines per PFF so far this season (Broncos 2nd, Rams 8th, Cardinals 10th), and Laiatu Latu’s remaining schedule of Offensive Lines look very favorable:
- Titans: 23rd
- Steelers: 14th
- Falcons: 20th
- Chiefs: 4th
- Texans: 29th
- Jaguars: 21st
- Seahawks: 18th
- 49ers: 11th
- Jaguars again: 21st
- Texans again: 29th
Outside of the Chiefs and 49ers games, Laiatu Latu stands a very good chance of adding plenty of sacks the rest of the season. The young former Bruin could be on the precipice of true dominance, the likes of which the Colts have not seen since the days of Freeney and Mathis.
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