Colts pick first defensive player in draft, bolster pass rush with Laiatu Latu

At the top of drafts, Colts general manager Chris Ballard has typically addressed the team's most glaring need.

They did it last year with Anthony Richardson, their hopeful quarterback of the future. The year before, they selected receiver Alec Pierce, a playmaker they could pair with Michael Pittman Jr.

In 2021, they used their top pick on edge rusher Kwity Paye when their sack leader from the previous year was a past-his-prime Justin Houston, who was set to be a free agent. In 2020, Indianapolis took Pittman when its leading wideout in 2019 barely had more than 600 yards receiving.

But this year, the Colts took a different approach. They have needs, but one could argue they didn't have glaring ones in the way they did in recent years. And Indianapolis decided to address the edge spot, a premium position.

Now, the team could have one of the better pass-rush units in the NFL next season after taking UCLA's Laiatu Latu at No. 15 overall. Everything you need to know about how much Indianapolis values him was evident in the fact that he was the first defensive player off the board, and that the team had essentially its pick of the field after six quarterbacks went in the first 12 selections.

The 6-foot-5, 259-pound Latu has average length to NFL standards, but he's a pass-rush technician whose game could transition well to the NFL. According to The Athletic, he led the FBS with a 24.6% pass-rush win rate in 2023, and had 129 pressures in 25 games over the past two seasons.

He joins a Colts team that posted 51 sacks in 2023, an Indianapolis-era record for the franchise. The Colts had four players with at least eight sacks last season: Samson Ebukam (9.5), Kwity Paye (8.5), DeForest Buckner (8) and Dayo Odeyingbo (8).

Latu's medical history is a concern. It represents a risk for the Colts. While at Washington, he suffered a neck injury that forced him to medically retire in the spring of 2021. He eventually transferred to UCLA, where he was cleared before the start of the 2022 season — and became one of the most dominant pass-rushers in college football.

If Latu is a hit, he's a luxury in the present and secures the Colts' future at a premium position in a passing league. The Colts have a trio of talented young quarterbacks to reckon with in their own division in the Texans' C.J. Stroud, Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence and Titans' Will Levis.

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Barring a decision to pick up the fifth-year option in his rookie contract, Paye will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2024 season. Odeyingbo is also set to be a free agent next spring. Latu is high-upside protection in the case of the departure of one or both in the near future.

Now, for Day 2 of the draft Friday, Indianapolis can address positional needs at cornerback and receiver.

Ben Arthur is the AFC South reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.

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