Would experience with past injuries turn Rams off this top edge player

Will Laiatu Latu’s injury history turn Rams off of UCLA edge rusher.

Throughout the NFL Draft process, the Los Angeles Rams have been connected to UCLA edge rusher Laiatu Latu. Latu fits the biggest need on the Rams roster and is one of the top edge players in this draft class.

However, like most draft prospects, Latu doesn’t come without his share of concerns. Unfortunately for Latu, his concern nearly ended his football career. Latu suffered a serious neck injury before the 2020 season and was forced to medically retire. The UCLA edge rusher defied the odds and ended up making a football comeback, eventually transferring the Bruins.

Injuries can be a red flag for draft prospects. A neck injury is a completely different beast. Latu didn’t just have a neck injury, but one that had doctors recommend that he medically retire because it created numbness and required surgery. The doctor that eventually cleared him was the same one that did work on Peyton Manning before he joined the Denver Broncos.

It’s been two years since Latu’s injury, but it’s certainly not something that can be written off. The Rams have taken fliers on injury-risk players in the past, including at the edge rusher position. Back in 2020, Los Angeles took edge rusher Terrell Lewis in the third round. Lewis was arguably a first-round talent but dropped to the third round due to a history of injuries. He missed much of the 2017 season due to an elbow injury and then the 2018 season after tearing his ACL. With Lewis, it was a constant battle for the Rams when it came to managing him because of that.

Lewis isn’t the only example. In 2015, the Rams took Todd Gurley in the first round. Gurley had a history of knee injuries. Gurley tore his ACL in 2014 at Georgia and even had a few healthy seasons in the NFL. One bad hit against the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018 and Gurley was never the same player.

It’s fair to wonder if their past experiences and getting burned in a sense with Lewis and Gurley has them take a more cautious approach with Latu. It’s true that Latu has played the last two years healthy and hasn’t shown signs of the injury affecting him. At the same time, much like the case with Gurley, one hit can change everything. Is it worth taking that sort of risk at a physical position like edge when every play in the NFL is like a car crash? Manning played the quarterback position and only played four more years after his neck injury. It’s true that Manning was significantly older than Latu, but even the great quarterback had admitted that he didn’t have feeling in his fingertips.

This isn’t to say that the Rams won’t or shouldn’t draft Latu. Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has said, “To win a Super Bowl, you either need the best player or make a decision that could cost you your job.” Throughout his tenure, Les Snead has shown no hesitancy when it comes to making the big move or the risky move. It wouldn’t be out of his wheelhouse to draft a player like Latu despite the injury red flags. If not for the neck injury, Latu would arguably be the consensus top edge player in this draft class. He would immediately be the best player on the Rams defense and be the face that the team needs on that side of the ball post-Aaron Donald.

However, the Rams have been down this road before. While they got a good return on Gurley, that draft pick also left a lot of ‘what if’ following 2018. They took a risk on Lewis, but that also came in the third round. That’s a spot where it makes sense to gamble on that type of pick. Lewis didn’t work out for either side, but the draft capital lost also wasn’t necessarily franchise-altering.

Given that the Rams haven’t had a first-round pick since 2016, their 19th overall selection is one of the most important draft picks in the Snead era. If they want to continue to compete post-Stafford and go for a title in 2025, it’s critical that they get this pick right. That’s both an argument for and against taking Latu.

Throughout Snead’s tenure, he’s shown no hesitancy to taking big swings and that’s exactly what drafting Latu would be if the Rams were presented with that opportunity. The big question is whether or not their past experiences and the importance of this draft pick will sway them a different direction.