Now, six weeks into the NFL season, Pro Football Focus put together its list of the top rookies based on their grading system. Of those top 15 players, two of them are defenders for the Indianapolis Colts.
At No. 10 on the list is linebacker Jaylon Carlies with a PFF grade of 78.3. Then just a few spots below Carlies at No. 12 is first-round pick Laiatu Latu.
Carlies has carved out a role as the Colts’ third linebacker when they are in their base 4-3 defense, averaging just over 20 snaps per game.
As a former college safety, where Carlies has really shined is in coverage. On the season, he’s allowed three receptions on four targets and held opponents to a grand total of eight yards. He’s also forced a pass breakup as well.
Carlies has also been a sound tackler, making 16 of his 17 tackle attempts, according to PFF.
Latu, meanwhile, has only one sack on the season and has generated 13 pressures. Neither of those metrics are going to leap off the stat sheet, but what the underlying numbers show is a pass rusher who is steadily winning his matchups.
Out of 122 eligible defensive ends, Latu ranks 22nd in PFF’s pass-rush win rate metric, and is the highest ranked Colts’ defender. As the name of this metric suggests, win rate measures how often a pass rusher beats the offensive lineman he’s matched up against.
Although the production from Latu hasn’t been overwhelming at this point, it’s bound to come with how often he is able to win his matchups.
Only two other teams, the Green Bay Packers and the New York Giants, have multiple players on this list.