{"id":172405,"date":"2024-05-05T12:00:27","date_gmt":"2024-05-05T16:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=172405"},"modified":"2024-05-04T20:58:48","modified_gmt":"2024-05-05T00:58:48","slug":"can-colts-laiatu-latu-be-best-pass-rusher-since-freeney-mathis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/05\/05\/can-colts-laiatu-latu-be-best-pass-rusher-since-freeney-mathis\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Colts Rookie Be Best Pass-Rusher Since Freeney\/Mathis?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Indianapolis Colts have high hopes for Laiatu Latu, whom they selected<\/a> 15th overall in the recent 2024 NFL Draft. It\u2019s possible he could one day become the franchise\u2019s best pass-rusher since the Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis era.<\/p>\n

Sure, Latu can accomplish such a lofty feat. Yet, it will take a long time for that to materialize. The defensive end out of UCLA hasn\u2019t even played an NFL preseason game yet. He has the potential, though, to be a special player.<\/p>\n

Could Laiatu Latu Become the Indianapolis Colts\u2019 Best Pass-Rusher Since Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis?<\/h2>\n

Remembering the Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis Era<\/h3>\n

The Colts selected Freeney with the 11th overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft. The former Syracuse Orangeman had an illustrious 16-year career, also playing for the San Diego (now Los Angeles) Chargers, Arizona Cardinals<\/a>, Atlanta Falcons, Detroit Lions, and Seattle Seahawks.<\/p>\n

However, Freeney\u2019s best days were in Indianapolis, where he played his first 11 seasons. As a Colt, he was named a First-Team All-Pro three times and made the Second-Team once. The seven-time Pro Bowler also led the NFL in sacks (16) in 2004 and was the league\u2019s forced fumbles co-leader in 2002.<\/p>\n

More importantly, Freeney helped Peyton Manning and Co. win Super Bowl XLI over the Chicago Bears<\/a>. He was also elected<\/a> to the Pro Football Hall of Fame\u2019s Class of 2024.<\/p>\n

Mathis was selected by Indianapolis in the fifth round (138th overall pick) of the 2003 draft. The Alabama A&M product spent his entire 14-year career with the Colts. He played a decade with fellow defensive end Freeney as they frequently got to the opposing team\u2019s quarterback.<\/p>\n

Mathis was a five-time Pro Bowler and was named a First-Team All-Pro once. He led the league in forced fumbles three times and won a Super Bowl ring. Unlike Freeney, though, he is yet to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n

Freeney and Mathis are both Colts legends. They\u2019re easily one of the greatest defensive line duos of all time, producing 186 sacks during their 10 seasons together.<\/p>\n

Laiatu Latu Might Be a Future Star<\/h3>\n

Many fans hoped the Colts would trade up in this year\u2019s draft and get a pass-catcher like Marvin Harrison Jr.<\/a> or Brock Bowers. Most mock drafts had them taking a cornerback in the first round. Yet, the Colts surprised everyone and took Laiatu Latu, the first defensive player selected in the draft.<\/p>\n

Latu had a neck issue during his time at Washington, which led to a medical retirement<\/a>. However, he later bounced back at UCLA, recording a total of 23.5 sacks the past two seasons.<\/p>\n

If he continues to stay healthy, Latu can be a force to be reckoned with as a Colt. The 6-5, 259-pounder has a high motor and he never gives up on a play. He possesses good size for an NFL edge and displays athleticism and impressive twitch.<\/p>\n

Last season, the Colts set an Indy-era franchise record with 51 sacks. Latu could join forces with the likes of Samson Ebukam, Kwity Paye, and Dayo Odeyingbo to give the team an even better pass-rushing unit.<\/p>\n

The Colts haven\u2019t had an elite pass-rusher since Freeney and Mathis were around. Don\u2019t be shocked if Laiatu Latu is next in line.<\/p>\n

Main Image: \u00a0Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rookie Laiatu Latu could develop into the Indianapolis Colts\u2019 best pass-rusher since the Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis era.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4890,"featured_media":172667,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12,54,1647],"tags":[10073,7810,7874,32406],"class_list":["post-172405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colts","category-editorials","category-nfl-draft","tag-2024-nfl-draft","tag-indianapolis-colts-draft","tag-kwity-paye","tag-laiatu-latu"],"modified_by":"Drew Crabtree","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4890"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172405\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}