Indianapolis Colts’ head coach Shane Steichen ruled defensive end Kwity Paye out of Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday afternoon, which means a larger workload is incoming for rookie Laiatu Latu.
Paye left this past Sunday’s game with a quad injury. He did not practice at all during the week.
Through three games, Latu has been the third member of the Colts’ defensive end rotation, behind Paye and Tyquan Lewis, who would miss practice on Thursday and Friday. As of now, we do not know what his status will be.
The Colts have utilized Latu in primary passing situations. Through the first two games, production-wise, he had just one pressure but was consistently winning his matchups, ranking in the top 20 among all defensive ends in PFF’s pass rush win rate metric.
Then, in this past game, Latu tallied five pressures, which were tied for the most on the team, and had a crucial strip-sack that eventually resulted in a touchdown for the Colts’ offense.
Where there is consistency, the production will typically follow, and we saw that against the Bears.
A larger role for Latu this week means more run defense snaps, especially against this Steelers offense that ranks second in rush attempts per game and 12th in total rushing yards per game.
As a run defender, it’s not only about bursting into the backfield, but at defensive end, setting a strong edge to prevent the ball carrier from getting outside and closing off running lanes will be paramount.
In addition to not having Paye, the Colts already thin cornerback room will be put to the test even further, with Kenny Moore ruled out as well.