In a shocking turn of events, the Indianapolis Colts were part of history during the 2024 NFL Draft. Despite picking in the middle of the round at No. 15, it was the Colts who were the first team to come away with a defensive player in the draft.

The first 14 selections were all on the offensive side of the ball, which is the longest such streak in the history of the NFL Draft. It is a good indication of where the game is heading and just how deep the offensive player pool was this year compared to the defensive.

With the No. 15 overall pick, the Colts selected UCLA defensive end Laiatu Latu. It was a selection that one NFL scout who spoke to NFL Analysis Network did not think highly of, ripping Indianapolis for their decision.

“Look, I’m not hating on Latu, but this was a really tough pick by Chris Ballard and the Colts. Dallas Turner and Quinyon Mitchell should’ve been the top two players on their board. Xavier Worthy should have been next. Latu is a solid prospect, but with the talent that was available this is a massive miss.”

Latu will have his opportunity to prove the scout wrong, but from their perspective, this was a reach by the Colts. There wasn’t anything wrong with taking a defender, but with every player on that side of the board still available, it was certainly surprising to have Latu being the first one to hear his name called.

When taking a look at his production at UCLA, it is easy to see why the Colts liked him. He registered 34 tackles for loss and 23.5 sacks the last two seasons with the Bruins as a disruptive force coming off the edge.

NFL teams can never have too much edge rushing. The Colts finished fifth in the NFL with 51 sacks last season but opted to bolster that position group by adding Latu to it with their first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

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