Colts 2024 NFL draft grade roundup for first-round pick Laiatu Latu

With the 15th overall pick, the Colts likely found themselves in a position that they didn’t expect to be in–having the ability to pick from the top defenders in this year’s draft class. With an unprecedented 14 straight offensive selections to begin the draft, the Colts had their pick of any cornerback or edge rusher.

Ultimately, the Colts chose to bolster their pass rush, selecting UCLA’s Laiatu Latu. The Colts have to be more consistent at getting after the quarterback in 2024, after ranking 23rd in total pressures last season, and Latu is considered by many the top edge defender in the draft after two very disruptive seasons with UCLA.

However, the big question mark around Latu throughout this pre-draft process was his injury history, specifically with his neck. Now, obviously, the Colts are more than comfortable with that, or they wouldn’t have made this pick.

We won’t truly know whether this was a good pick for the Colts or a not-so-good pick until Latu takes the field, and truthfully, it often takes several years before we have that answer. But draft grades do help provide insights into what analysts thought about the initial selection, given their rankings and how the board fell.