Colts Defender Expected to Make Huge Jump in 2025

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Paul White | Last updated Apr 6, 2025 12:53 PM ET

Going into the offseason, the Indianapolis Colts knew that edge rusher was a position they needed to focus on.

They lost Dayo Odenigbo in free agency which was a massive blow for depth reasons, but even he wasn’t particularly productive.

The former second round pick could only manage 16.5 sacks over his four years with the Colts.

So, even if they retained Odenigbo they still would have needed a sizable upgrade at edge rusher.

There weren’t many premier pass rushers in this year’s free agency class, but Indianapolis has been rumored to be targeting some in this year’s NFL Draft.

It’s a necessity that could very easily become a luxury pick if the Colts get the development that they’re expecting from their second-year defensive end.

The Colts selected Laiatu Latu with the 15th pick in last year’s draft and they had high hopes that he’d be the best edge the class.

He didn’t produce immediately because he was stuck behind some incumbent talent but still finished the season with a respectable four sacks as a rotational defensive end.

Colts head coach Shane Steichen was recently asked about the former UCLA star and said, “The way he works, his work ethic is tremendous. I think you’ll see a big jump from year one to year two.”

Those are some major expectations for someone who wasn’t viewed as the cream of the crop of his draft class, but the numbers suggest a sophomore leap is more than possible.

Pro Football Focus Latu ranked as the 45th best edge rusher out of 211 that qualified.

It might not seem like very high praise until you realize that Latu only played the 43rd most snaps out of all qualified edge rushers.

With an increased role this year, there’s a very good chance that the Colts could see his numbers skyrocket.

Steichen is optimistic that the team may be able to get Latu’s sack numbers into the double digits.

This puts a ton of pressure on the young pass rusher’s shoulders, but from all accounts he’s more than equipped to handle it.

Steichen is far from the first person to call Latu an extremely hard worker.

One of his defining attributes when being discussed as a potential draft pick last year was his high motor.

If Latu just puts his head down and grinds, he will likely see a large increase in snaps and his sack totals and tackle numbers will follow.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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