Packers Get QB-Sacking Laiatu Latu in Mel Kiper’s Latest NFL Mock Draft
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers have big needs at offensive tackle, safety and linebacker, but they landed UCLA pass rusher Laiatu Latu in Mel Kiper’s latest mock draft for ESPN.
“Green Bay is another team that might seek one of these offensive tackles,” Kiper said following the Packers’ release of David Bakhtiari on the first day of free agency and the loss of Yosh Nijman to the Panthers on Monday. “but I wonder if this is a landing spot for the best pure edge rusher in this class. Sure, it drafted Lukas Van Ness a year ago in Round 1, but he's more of a power rusher and run-stopper than a true double-digit sack machine.”
Latu was that sack machine at UCLA. In two seasons at UCLA, he had 10.5 sacks, 12.5 tackles for losses and three forced fumbles in 2022 and 13 sacks, 21.5 tackles for losses, two interceptions and two forced fumbles in 2023.
The numbers at Pro Football Focus are just as strong. Last year, he posted 62 total pressures and ranked No. 1 in the draft class by a considerable margin with a pass-rush win rate of 26.2 percent.
He swept through the awards season. He was a unanimous All-American and winner of the Lombardi Award, Ted Hendricks Award and the Morris Trophy, which goes to the Pac-12’s best defensive lineman as voted on by the conference’s offensive linemen.
The question about Latu won’t be about his ability to create havoc. It will be health. As a sophomore at Washington in 2020, he suffered a season-ending neck injury. At the start of spring practices in 2021, Latu announced he was retiring for medical reasons.
He transferred to UCLA in 2022 and was medically cleared.
“There's risk for anyone playing football,” Latu said at the Scouting Combine. “Really, there's risk for anything in life.’
At 6-foot-4 3/4 and 259 pounds at the Scouting Combine, he ran his 40 in 4.64 seconds and posted a Relative Athletic Score of 9.19.
“I just love the game,” he told NFL Network after his workout. “It means a lot to me that I can provide for my family, my brother, my little sisters and my mom. Really, [I’m] just proving to the world that once you set your mind to something, if you have the love and dedication for it, no matter what anyone tells you, you can achieve your goals.”
In the mock, five offensive tackles were off the board, including Oklahoma’s Tyler Guyton a spot earlier to Dallas. Georgia’s Amarius Mims was on the board. Four cornerbacks were off the board, including Iowa’s Cooper DeJean two spots earlier to Minnesota.
Green Bay is set at defensive end in its new 4-3 alignment. Rashan Gary, Preston Smith and Van Ness are a formidable trio on the edge. However, picking a not-quite-immediate need wouldn’t be too out of the ordinary for the Packers. In 2019, general manager Brian Gutekunst spent big on Smith and Za’Darius Smith, then used the first-round pick on Gary.
Latu would be a look to the future. At age 31, Smith is the only player on the roster who’s even 29.
