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INDIANAPOLIS – Unable to satisfy a trade partner above them for one of the top offensive players in the draft, the Colts instead spent a pick on someone who needs to be a closer early on.
And in drafting UCLA’s Laiatu Latu, Chris Ballard also deviated a bit from his normal mode of operations when it comes to drafting, particularly at edge rusher.
Medical questions are there, but there’s no denying Latu enters the NFL as one of the more accomplished pass rushers college football has seen in quite some time.
“He’s a natural rusher,” Ballard says of a player in Latu, who the Colts thought was one of the best 4 or 5 players in the entire draft. “He’s a three-way rusher where he has got a great long arm down the middle and he’s got a great feel of when to counter inside and he can win on the edge. He’s kind of got all of it. He’s a really talented guy.
“I think he’s going to produce pretty quickly as a rusher, I think he knows how to rush. Now of course, there’s going to be an adjustment period as there is with any rookie rusher. This guy is a pretty polished product in terms of rushing. Of course, you’re going to have to learn especially against the tackles who are so good in our league and the protection schemes are so good. So, that will be an adjustment for him. But, smart kid – he’ll figure it out.”
Given Latu’s age (turns 24 on New Year’s Eve) and the concerns about the longevity of his career (something the Colts don’t think is true), he does need to impact earlier than most pass rushers.
Latu did medically retire from football in 2021, after a neck injury in practice the year prior led to doctors at the University of Washington electing not to clear the California product.
Ironically, Latu had a spinal cervical procedure. Eventual clearance though didn’t come until Robert Watkins, who also operated on Peyton Manning, did just that. But school medical staff clearance didn’t come from Washington. It did from the UCLA staff, spurring a transfer there in 2022.
Thanks to playing every game for the Bruins over the last two years, that helped calm the Colts questions a bit, although Ballard still had them.
“You can imagine, I asked a ton of questions, anytime you have any kind of neck injury,” Ballard said late on Thursday night. “You remember (Clayton) Geathers – Clayton went through it. It wasn’t as bad as Clayton’s. (I) asked a ton of questions – career length, what’s the chance of it happening again – we asked a ton of questions on it.
“We weren’t concerned about (longevity of his career) – 23 years old, we tried to sign one that was 29 (Danielle Hunter).”
Along with seeing Latu falling and falling, in the Colts eyes, on Thursday, there was definitely some early intrigue about possibly trading up.
When asked about that possibility in prior years, Ballard has rarely given an answer like the one he did after this Round 1.
“We had some serious, serious discussions, yes – with big offers, by the way,” Ballard shared. “We made a push, it just didn’t – you got to get two to tango. Nobody was moving. There’s some good players up at the top of the draft. When you’re sitting there, you ask yourself, ‘Okay, is it worth moving back to 15 and missing out on one of the?’
“We were fortunate back in 2018 when we just were able to kick three spots back and still get a premium player in Quenton (Nelson).”
Rome Oduzne?
Brock Bowers?
Even higher for a Malik Nabers or Marvin Harrison Jr?
In the end though, we saw just 1 trade in the top-14 (Minnesota and New York swapping the 10th and the 11th pick) with 14 straight offensive selections.
So the Colts stayed put and took a player they believe was a top-5 overall prospect.
And they drafted a player who brings college production that previous Colts draft picks off the edge never sniffed.
“Excited about we got Latu,” the 8th year GM said on Thursday. “He’s a really great kid. I know the medical is going to be a question. Like our doctors said, he played two full years with it and had 22.5 sacks.
“We think we got the best defensive player in the draft. I thought we got a little lucky. There were really four or five really elite players, and he was one of them so we feel fortunate to get him.”
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Why Did The Colts Draft Laiatu Latu? was originally published on 1075thefan.com
