Laiatu Latu gave the Colts a glimpse of what he could become last season. Now Indianapolis is waiting to see if that version of him is real.
The former first-round pick in 2024 broke through with 8.5 sacks and 20 quarterback hits last year, and for a stretch he looked like the edge rusher the Colts badly needed. But three games into 2026, the production has stalled. He has nine quarterback pressures and no sacks so far, a step back from where he was at this point last season, when he had 15 pressures and one sack through his first three games, with a Week 2 absence in the mix.
That slowdown has landed on a Colts pass rush that still hasn’t found much consistency. Free agent addition Arden Key has brought some early juice with 10 total pressures and a sack, but the unit as a whole remains uneven. DeForest Buckner continues to be the stabilizing force, and without his elite play, the problems would look even bigger.
The larger issue for Indianapolis is what Latu becomes from here. If this is just a sluggish start, the Colts can live with that.
If it’s something more, that’s a tougher conversation. General manager Chris Ballard has not exactly built a track record of success when it comes to edge rushers, and Latu had started to change that story.
Instead, through three games, he looks more like the rookie version of himself, when he finished with four sacks, than the player who flashed last season. He hasn’t looked close to taking over games, and he certainly hasn’t looked ready to explode into the kind of force the Colts hoped they were drafting.
Week 3 offered one possible explanation. The Colts were better against the Houston Texans, who appear to be a mess offensively, but Latu was limited to 27 snaps while dealing with a chest contusion. Indianapolis managed just fine without him that day, though Buckner’s All-Pro level had plenty to do with that.
Still, the Colts need more from Latu moving forward. Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo needs at least one edge rusher to become a true star, the way Trey Hendrickson did when both men were with the Cincinnati Bengals. Latu may never match Hendrickson’s production, but he is the closest thing Indianapolis has to that type of player.
That makes his health and his performance a priority. The season is still young, but the Colts have too much left to play for to keep waiting on their best edge-rushing hope to arrive.
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