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Indianapolis Colts Take Pass Rusher With Injury ‘Concerns’ Over Dallas Turner With No. 15 Pick

Originally posted on Gridiron Heroics | By Jordan Sigler | Last updated 4/25/24

The Indianapolis Colts selected a pass rusher with the No. 15 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. The first 14 picks went on the offensive side of the ball. Six quarterbacks were taken in the first 12 picks. The Colts were the first team to take a defensive player in the draft.

Most draft analysts and scouts had defensive tackle Byron Murphy II and defensive end Dallas Turner as the most likely defensive players to be taken first in the draft. The Colts took a chance on Laiatu Latu, who brings a history of great play on tape and a previous troubling medical history.

Laiatu Latu brings maturity to the league

According to Lance Zierlein with the NFL Network, Latu brings “maturity” to the NFL:

“Latu possesses the kind of rare maturity to his game that you usually see from NFL veterans. He rarely stays blocked by tackles as a run defender and dominates blocking tight ends on the collegiate level. His pass-rush approach is both well conceived and instinctive, and he’s brilliant at taking possession of the rep using clever hands and slippery angles to pry open opportunities.

His eyes play beyond blockers, and he feeds off of a voracious motor that keeps him pushing forward as a run defender and pass rusher.”

Latu suffered a bad neck injury in 2020

Per an ESPN report, Washington doctors would not clear Latu to return to football following an injury in 2020:

The Sacramento, California, native did not play in 2020 or 2021 after he was advised to “medically retire” from football by the Washington staff. Latu had suffered a neck injury in preseason workouts for the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season and later had surgery — Latu said Wednesday he had neck fusion surgery — to try to repair lingering numbness.

Doctors at Washington would not clear him to return and advised him not to play football.

NFL teams are concerned about Latu’s neck

Latu would transfer to UCLA and play in the 2022-23 seasons. He’d rack up 23.5 sacks in his last two seasons at the college level. Regardless of his stamina at UCLA, Zierlein suggests that some NFL teams are anxious about his neck health at the next level:

Concerns surrounding his neck injury (while at Washington) will certainly come into play when he gets to medical exams, but his durability and play at UCLA are certainly promising. Everything about Latu’s skill set and production is translatable to the NFL, and he could become a Pro Bowler as a 3-4 outside linebacker with a heavy influence on the game.

Here are highlights of Latu during the 2023 season, courtesy of NFL Film Room.