- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,132,975
- Reaction score
- 59
Pass rusher Laiatu Latu made a big jump between his first and second NFL seasons. The Indianapolis Colts will now need him to take another good-sized step forward in 2026.
A former first-round pick by the Colts, Latu totaled 38 pressures his first season. This past year, however, that figure jumped to 61 pressures, which ranked as the 15th-most among his position group. Latu also totaled 8.5 sacks.
Unlike past seasons, Latu is no longer the young player in the Colts' veteran-heavy defensive end room. With Kwity Paye, Samson Ebukam, and Tyquan Lewis all departing in free agency, Latu is now the leader of this unit.
"I definitely understand that," Latu said, "and I know that and I carry myself in that way knowing that I'm relied on. They're looking to me to be one of the guys and a leader in that aspect. So I'm doing that part on the field and off the field."
Latu has always brought impressive bend and burst to the defensive end position, but this offseason he's focused on adding more muscle to help with his power game.
"I definitely have," Latu said of adding strength. "I definitely lost a good (amount of) body fat, gained muscle mass on me, and I think it definitely shows. I was really locked in the offseason, really just growing a lot of strength, but keeping my bend and stuff like that."
To go along with Latu's production on the stat sheet last season, he ranked 25th among his position group in PFF's pass rush win rate metric as well, showcasing his ability to regularly beat the blocker across from him.
Latu has shown that he can rack up pressures; the next step is converting more of those opportunities into sacks.
"I mean, definitely, there's definitely stuff I can fix in my rushes where their hand might have got me here and I could have reduced certain service level or just a lot of little things that I'm watching film and I'm trying to correct out here to where you know I'm I'm winning more of the time," Latu said.
Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo fully expects Latu to make another jump in his third NFL season.
This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: Colts DE Laiatu Latu details offseason focus heading into Year 3
Continue reading...
A former first-round pick by the Colts, Latu totaled 38 pressures his first season. This past year, however, that figure jumped to 61 pressures, which ranked as the 15th-most among his position group. Latu also totaled 8.5 sacks.
Unlike past seasons, Latu is no longer the young player in the Colts' veteran-heavy defensive end room. With Kwity Paye, Samson Ebukam, and Tyquan Lewis all departing in free agency, Latu is now the leader of this unit.
"I definitely understand that," Latu said, "and I know that and I carry myself in that way knowing that I'm relied on. They're looking to me to be one of the guys and a leader in that aspect. So I'm doing that part on the field and off the field."
Latu has always brought impressive bend and burst to the defensive end position, but this offseason he's focused on adding more muscle to help with his power game.
"I definitely have," Latu said of adding strength. "I definitely lost a good (amount of) body fat, gained muscle mass on me, and I think it definitely shows. I was really locked in the offseason, really just growing a lot of strength, but keeping my bend and stuff like that."
To go along with Latu's production on the stat sheet last season, he ranked 25th among his position group in PFF's pass rush win rate metric as well, showcasing his ability to regularly beat the blocker across from him.
Latu has shown that he can rack up pressures; the next step is converting more of those opportunities into sacks.
"I mean, definitely, there's definitely stuff I can fix in my rushes where their hand might have got me here and I could have reduced certain service level or just a lot of little things that I'm watching film and I'm trying to correct out here to where you know I'm I'm winning more of the time," Latu said.
Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo fully expects Latu to make another jump in his third NFL season.
This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: Colts DE Laiatu Latu details offseason focus heading into Year 3
Continue reading...
