Gus Bradley, defensive coordinator of the Indianapolis Colts was asked about their first-round pick Laiatu Latu, and he was excited about the former UCLA Bruins defensive star.
Bradley was excited about the possibilities that Latu brings to the table on the defensive side. He was impressed with the various skills Latu possesses, per Joel A. Erickson of USA Today:
“When you have guys who have specific traits and different skill sets where you go, ‘Hold on now, I think we’ve got a chance for a mismatch. Let’s see what that can develop to be,” Bradley said. “When you have an athlete like that, I think those packages might expand based on what we see, day in and day out, to use the skill set.”
The Colts hope to use the former Bruins defensive star to improve their defense. They will need that defense in the AFC South as they will pair up against CJ Stroud and the Houston offense twice, along with Trevor Lawrence and Jacksonville. Bradley, who is in his third season as defensive coordinator mentioned this about Latu’s athleticism:
“One of the things that jumped out to us was his athleticism,” Bradley said. “You saw him drop, you could see him flip his hips — not that we’re going to do that a lot with him — but you could see his overall athleticism. He can rush from a two-point (stance), he can rush from a three-point. He’s used as a spinner. You can put him over the guard.”
Latu will be active in the mini-camps this summer, and then training camp will get underway in late July. The Colts train at Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield Indiana, and many of their practices will be open to the public.