Colts Bullish On Big Third Year For Laiatu Latu
- Latu's sack numbers jumped from 4.0 to 8.5 in his 2nd year, sparking high expectations for his 3rd season.
- Defensive coordinator Anarumo believes Latu is on track to become a double-digit sack player next year.
- Colts desperately need Latu to emerge as a dominant pass rusher after missing out on other free agent options.
INDIANAPOLIS – During his final media session of the 2025 regular season, Lou Anarumo made a strong proclamation about Laiatu Latu.
The Colts history of drafting edge rushers is an ugly one for Chris Ballard.
But Latu’s 2nd year jump in virtually every pressure category, highlighted by his sack number going from 4.0 to 8.5, had Anarumo breaking character a bit.
“I can hang my hat on this that, and we all should as Colts Nation, nobody’s going to work harder than him,” Anarumo said of Latu. “He’ll come back in his third season and man, he’ll show you even a better version of what he’s shown so far.
“I think he’s right on course, right on track to where he’s supposed to be, and I can’t wait to watch him next year.”
Clearly, Anarumo believes the arrow is pointing in the upward direction for Latu.
“Generally speaking, you can look through the history of the league, he is on the right path,” the veteran defensive coordinator said. “The third year for any rusher is usually their breakout year. And I think he’s at, 8.5 (sacks) right now. So, we can be real confident, I know I am, about him being a double-digit guy next year for sure. And that’s not a goal that is too high for him to grab.”
And given how the Colts have gone about this offseason so far, they are putting quite a bit on the edge rushing plate from Latu.
Simply, they desperately need a breakout from the first defensive player selected in the 2024 NFL Draft (15th overall)
Latu walked into the NFL with a pretty accomplished collegiate resume in his two years playing for UCLA.
The thought was Latu was less of a “project” at defensive end and more in the mold of a guy who could impact earlier than some edge rushers.
He had 4.0 sacks in his rookie campaign, hitting a rookie wall with no sacks in the final 5 weeks.
The sacks more than doubled in Year Two (despite playing one less game). His splash plays included 3 interceptions, shining with quite the individual effort in a pick of Patrick Mahomes.
“The play in Kansas City,” Ballard says in Latu, “That’s a rare, that’s a special – that’s what blue players, they make those kind of plays.”
At the conclusion of the 2025 season, Ballard made it clear the defensive end position needed some reinforcements.
Yet, the Colts missed on Trey Hendrickson and the obvious answer to that splash remains a mystery.
Of course this was always focused around Latu as the centerpiece, believing he’s growing into something the Colts have longed for.
“I like where Latu is at,” Ballard reiterated at the end of the season. “I did think Latu played really good football. He ended up with 8.5 sacks. There were some close-but-no-cigar plays that I think would’ve put him at about 14 that he needs to finish.
“So we like his trend upwards, and I think he’s going to continue to get better.”
The Colts absolutely need that.
