Colts' Second-Year Defender Poised for a Breakout

The Indianapolis Colts are attempting to usher in a new era on defense.

It began by moving on from defensive coordinator Gus Bradley and replacing him with former Cincinnati Bengals coordinator Lou Anarumo, who is known for being more aggressive and unpredictable in his schemes.

The Colts then went out in free agency and landed two of the top defensive backs on the market in cornerback Charvarius Ward and safety Camryn Bynum. In the 2025 NFL Draft, the Colts spent Day 2 focusing on defense, adding end JT Tuimoloau in Round 2 and cornerback Justin Walley in Round 3.

Adding several new pieces is one way to ensure improvement on the defensive side of the ball, but the Colts are also hoping for some of their preexisting young players to take a step forward, most prominently last year's first-round pick, defensive end Laiatu Latu.

Recently, NFL.com analyst Marc Ross produced a list of second-year breakout candidates across the NFL, and he included Latu.

"I thought Latu was the best pass rusher in the 2024 draft, but we didn't see his full potential last season," Ross wrote. "He posted four sacks as a rotational piece in the Colts' defensive front, which returns Samson Ebukam -- who missed all of last season with an Achilles injury -- and added edge rusher JT Tuimoloau in the second round of April's draft.

"Latu is surrounded by talent, but he has the opportunity to show his skills as a Trey Hendrickson-like force under Lou Anarumo, who's entering his first season as defensive coordinator after six years as the Bengals' DC," Ross continued.

Latu appeared in all 17 games (one start) as a rookie, totaling 32 tackles (five for loss), 4.0 sacks, 12 QB hits, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and a pass breakup. He led the Colts in pass-rush win rate (14.0%), per Pro Football Focus, had the second-best pass-rush grade (72.1) behind only DeForest Buckner (77.1), and had the second-most pressures (38).

Among all NFL rookie defensive linemen, Latu graded as the third-best with a mark of 71.5, behind only Jared Verse (89.3) and T'Vondre Sweat (76.1).

"I thought you could see it as the year went on," Colts general manager Chris Ballard said earlier this offseason of Latu's progress. "Were the sacks coming at the end? No, but the pressures were, and I think you'll see him finish more as we go forward here.

"I know Latu was getting a little frustrated, and I remember DeForest (Buckner) got to him and said, 'Look, man, it took me two years to really develop to where I really understood how to rush,'" Ballard continued. "I think it'll come on quicker than that (for Latu), but everybody's developmental timetable is different."

With the Colts hiring Anarumo as their new DC, many people have made the connection of a promising young pass rusher in Latu to the dominant All-Pro that Anarumo had with the Bengals in Trey Hendrickson. Hendrickson had 17.5 sacks last year, which led the NFL, and his 35.0 over the last two seasons is the most in the league as well.

Those are lofty expectations for Latu, but realistic expectations for him are that he starts to reach the double-digit sack mark in year two.

Just two years ago, the Colts' defense set an Indianapolis era record with 51 sacks, which was among the top five in the league for the season. However, last year, with some injuries taking their toll, the Colts slipped to just 36 sacks, which ranked near the bottom of the NFL.

Led by a hopeful leap from Latu, the Colts hope their pass rush can return to form.

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