Former UCLA Bruin and Indianapolis Colts’ first-round selection Laiatu Latu is amongst the rookie leaders in pressures, with the UCLA standout ranking third amongst rookies with 20 pressures through his first nine games.
X user Jake Ellenbogen posted the list recently.
“Here are the rookie pressure leaders in the NFL:
- Jared Verse #Rams – 39
- Braden Fiske #Rams – 26
- Laiatu Latu #Colts – 20
- Chop Robinson #Dolphins – 14
- Elijah Chatman #Giants – 12″
Latu finds himself behind a pair of Los Angeles Rams, with Los Angeles’ first-round pick Verse having 13 more pressures than any other rookie and 19 more than any other rookie who isn’t a Rams’ teammate.
While he hasn’t had the same total as the Rams’ rookies, Latu, the top-drafted defensive player in this year’s draft, has put together a strong rookie season with 14 tackles, two sacks and two forced fumbles at just over the midway point for the season.
Latu started his collegiate career at Washington before spending two seasons with the Bruins before the edge rusher was taken with the 15th pick in this year’s draft. Latu nearly had to retire from football in 2021 after having surgery on his neck, following the surgery the Washington medical staff did not medically clear Latu to resume playing. Latu got clearance later in 2021 and then entered the transfer portal and headed to UCLA.
In his two seasons in Brentwood, Latu had a whopping 23.5 sacks in 25 games with 35 tackles for losses, forcing five fumbles and intercepting two passes as a Bruin.
His 2023 season with UCLA earned Latu Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, the Lombardi Award, the Ted Hendricks award and was a unanimous All-America selection.