Colts draft DE Laiatu Latu - Round 1, Pick 15

[nate505]

Originally Posted by ChaosTheory

According to Ballard (and as you would think any NFL team investing millions into an athlete would), they got access to the nitty gritty of his medical history and had lots of discussion.

Ballard is cautious, so you have to imagine the prognosis was a strong positive.

Agreed. I'm just a bit irritated at the "he was told to retire and he's one hit away from being out of the league forever" guys to quantify what that means.

Granted they really aren't here though. Most people here seem to love the pick. In all honestly I didn't think he was much of a possibility, so I didn't bother research him much other than the game I saw him dominate my poor Buffs.

The more tape you watch of this guy, the better it is. He's legit dominant.

[IndyNorm]

Doyel actually included some useful information in his column on Latu:

https://www.indystar.com/story/sport...g/73382928007/

Laiatu Latu, Peyton Manning had same doc

Laiatu Latu came out of retirement for the same reason as Peyton Manning a decade earlier: Because Dr. Robert Watkins said he could.

Got your attention? Good. Here’s the rest of that story:

Manning was having neck issues in his final years with the Colts. You remember. He underwent two surgeries, then needed a third in September 2011. His season was over. If this surgery, by far the most invasive of the three, didn’t work? His career was over, too.

Peyton went to Dr. Robert Watkins of the Watkins Spine Center in Marina del Rey, Calif., for neck fusion surgery. Less than five months later Watkins cleared him to play football again. Manning ended up in Denver. Won a Super Bowl. You remember.

Nearly a decade later, Latu was entering his sophomore season at Washington. This was 2020, after he’d played some as a true freshman, a four-star recruit – a member of ESPN’s top 300 – out of Sacramento. He had a promising future until he cracked heads with a teammate in practice. His neck was tingling. Doctors saw the damage in his neck and performed fusion surgery. The tingling lingered. Washington’s medical staff wouldn’t clear Latu, and suggested he retire from the sport. He did, but stayed on scholarship for the 2020 and ’21 seasons. Maybe he’d be a coach.

But then the coach at Washington, Jimmy Lake, was fired. And Latu’s mother, Kerry, started doing some research. She heard about this neck specialist in southern California whose office had worked on more than 150 NFL players, not to mention dozens of NBA, MLB and Olympic athletes. Kerry Latu wasn’t wanting another surgery for her son. She wanted another opinion.

Laiatu Latu went to the Watkins Spine Center, where Watkins performed a handful of tests and studied scans of his neck. And in late 2021, two years into Latu’s medical retirement, Watkins told the young defensive end what he’d told Manning 10 years earlier:

You’re good to go.

Washington wouldn’t clear Latu, so he transferred to UCLA. Two seasons and 23½ sacks later, Laiatu Latu was the most technically proficient pass rusher in the 2024 NFL Draft class. Not the most physically imposing – though he certainly looks the part at 6-5, 265 pounds, and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.64 seconds – but the most technical.

JMO but if a world renowned surgeon cleared him and there hasn't been any issues in the 2 years of playing since then, then there's probably not much if any additional injury risk for him than there is for anyone else in the NFL.

[Racehorse]

Originally Posted by IndyNorm

Doyel actually included some useful information in his column on Latu:

https://www.indystar.com/story/sport...g/73382928007/



JMO but if a world renowned surgeon cleared him and there hasn't been any issues in the 2 years of playing since then, then there's probably not much if any additional injury risk for him than there is for anyone else in the NFL.

Doyel has to tread softly right now, because half the sports world is livid with him.

[Chromeburn]

Just saw Latu meeting the local press. Very likable personality, he's going to be a fan favorite.

[Dam8610]

Originally Posted by nate505

Agreed. I'm just a bit irritated at the "he was told to retire and he's one hit away from being out of the league forever" guys to quantify what that means.

Granted they really aren't here though. Most people here seem to love the pick. In all honestly I didn't think he was much of a possibility, so I didn't bother research him much other than the game I saw him dominate my poor Buffs.

The more tape you watch of this guy, the better it is. He's legit dominant.

The tape shows a Myles Garrett level game wrecker to me.

[YDFL Commish]

So I've been watching clip after clip after clip of Latu and I've come to the realization that I would not know where to play him.

A lot of people want to pigeon hole him as strictly a Leo, and that's not the case. Latu can play 3-tech, he can play strong, he can play Leo.

What I think I know though, is if he's used correctly, Defo should have a career year. Latu may not have record breaking sack numbers as a rookie, but I can see him lined up next to Defo, in almost any alignment, where one of the two of them is going to make a play.

This has the makings of a fun season, if Bradley doesn't screw it up!

[Dam8610]

Originally Posted by YDFL Commish

So I've been watching clip after clip after clip of Latu and I've come to the realization that I would not know where to play him.

A lot of people want to pigeon hole him as strictly a Leo, and that's not the case. Latu can play 3-tech, he can play strong, he can play Leo.

What I think I know though, is if he's used correctly, Defo should have a career year. Latu may not have record breaking sack numbers as a rookie, but I can see him lined up next to Defo, in almost any alignment, where one of the two of them is going to make a play.

This has the makings of a fun season, if Bradley doesn't screw it up!

He's not a classic LEO for Bradley's defense. Honestly, Paye is more of that than Latu is. That said, I agree about the positional versatility that Latu has, and he can wreck a guard just as well as he can wreck a tackle. Latu can play LEO, though, which is just a testament to how versatile and disruptive Latu is as a pass rusher.

[njcoltfan]

Originally Posted by Racehorse

Doyel has to tread softly right now, because half the sports world is livid with him.

Why is half the sports world livid with him ????

[Racehorse]

Originally Posted by njcoltfan

Why is half the sports world livid with him ????

His ridiculous attempts at winning over Caitlyn Clark, has stirred up quite a few, and the rest were already holding him in contempt for his yellow journalism coverage of Indiana sports.