Colts' Laiatu Latu Details Plan to Breakout as a Top-Tier Pass Rusher

The Indianapolis Colts are counting on third-year defensive end Laiatu Latu to fully emerge in 2026.

It'll be no easy task with such unproven talent opposite him on the defensive line, but Latu believes he is primed for a breakout like many have predicted.

Latu is confident in his ability to take advantage of the opportunity to prove he's not just the Colts' top pass-rush option, but continue his upward trajectorty and become one of the NFL's top edge defenders.

While the Colts kick off training camp practices later today, and will serve as the first opportunity for players to prove their worth, it was yesterday's report day that featured Latu's new-look confidence and plan for the upcoming season.

Latu's Most Pivotal Offseason Yet

Laiatu Latu took a much-needed first step in his development last year, going from 4.0 sacks and 5 tackles for loss as a rookie to 8.5 sacks, 12 tackles for loss, and 3 interceptions in his sopohomore campaign.

The Colts believe Latu will only continue his upward trajectory and become the top-tier pass rusher they envisioned when drafting him 15th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Latu discussed his offseason workout regimen ahead of training camp, and explained that he focused on getting stronger while also refining his pass-rush skills.

“I feel like I took the same approach. Just keeping my body flexible, eating right, attacking my upper body strength, keeping that, continuously getting strong, and then just working with my guy Eddy (McGilvra). Coach Eddy, getting on the field with him, perfecting certain things. Yeah, it was dope. It was a good offseason," Latu said about his offseason approach.

Now Latu is determined to turn his impressive second-year showing into a realized emergence.

“Really, it was just taking the defense – Coach Lou (Anarumo) coming in, really just taking his new defense, and being able to do a lot of things, and just kind of like learning it that first year and then being able to kind of just be all over the field. And then this year I'm really just honing in on I feel like my get off, and – I feel like it's my get off for sure this year and just really just being able to get off the rock when I know it, and then at certain points being able to play off of that," Latu explained what he focused on entering a pivotal year three.

"There's times where I was definitely late getting off the ball, so that's a big part of my game I'm trying to get better at."

Latu said that he's focused on refining his get-off ability after spending his second season acclimating to defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo's multiple defense -- a scheme that immediately proved to bring out the best in his talents.

Earlier this offseason, Latu took the opportunity to work alongside some of the league's aspiring top pass rushers at the Sack Summit, an annual pass-rush circuit hosted by some of the NFL most proven talent.

It was during this circuit that Latu earned high praise and gained additional confidence that an emergence is possible after he was deemed the top breakout candidate of all attendees.

Laiatu Latu was named the 2026 Sack Summit Breakout Pass Rusher Award winner 🏆

The award was presented at the annual Sack Summit, a pass-rushing event hosted by Maxx Crosby, Von Miller, and Cam Jordan.

Breakout year incoming 😤

(via sack_summit on IG) pic.twitter.com/94lTtq1VGB
— Colts Muse (@ColtsMusee) July 14, 2026

This hardware not only proved that Latu is viewed a legitimate breakout candidate by his colleagues, but gave him

“Yeah really, it was just to keep going. Trust in what I'm doing. Like, obviously it's taking me places, and really – we did talk about that get off. That's why I mentioned that, and really how important that is. So, I feel like that was the big thing that we talked about, and then them just being encouraging for sure," Latu said on the advice given from Maxx Crosby, Von Miller, and Cam Jordan.

Evolution Loading?

Latu had the 15th-most pressures (61) among all edge defenders in 2025, according to Pro Football Focus.

Even though this was a much-needed next step in his development, with his overall sack percentage and pressure rate improving, his get-off and time to pressure took a step back.

He went from a 2.69-second time to pressure (TTP) rate and 0.84-second get-off average as a rookie to a 3.05-second TTP and 0.91-second get-off during his impressive second-year showing.

Although this may seem concerning on the surface, it's fair to assume that his first season in Lou Anarumo's defense as a do-it-all defender played a factor, given that he was responsible for much more coverage responsibility and was lined up in a two-hand stance a good amount of the time.

Latu's aforementioned focus on improving his get-off shows that he was able to address his shortcomings despite earning hype for his impressive season, and he's now set himself up for continued success in year three.

On top of sporting career-bests in sacks (8.5) and tackles for loss (12), Latu's 3 interceptions (second-best on team) proved he is on track to become the TJ Watt clone that many compared him to coming out of UCLA.

Latu's proven playmaking ability and veteran feel for the game have created an intriguing canvas to work from as he enters his third season, so as long as he improves upon his get-off ability like he's strived for throughout the offseason, his expected breakout feels much more attainable.

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