2024 NFL Draft: Top Tier Defensive Ends Include UCLA's Latu

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Once a college football player retires from a serious injury to the neck, that’s usually it. Defensive End Laiatu Latu out of UCLA once had to stop playing football altogether due to a very serious neck injury suffered before the 2020 season. At that point, any chance of playing football in the NFL was officially over. However, Latu never gave up on his dream. He risked greater injury, perhaps even paralysis, by returning to college football to play for the UCLA Bruins. Nothing would stop Latu from his goal. His indomitable will pay off. The power rusher with Myles Garrett like power moves and speed is a potential late first-round draft pick who will put fear in the eyes of NFL quarterbacks. Latu went from permanently retiring from football to one of the most prolific pass rushers in college football.

Latu recorded 13.5 sacks last year. To put this in perspective, that’s one to two sacks per game. He can successfully rush the quarterback in less than five seconds, effectively reducing the time to make proper reads of defenses and increasing the chances of turnovers.

His combination of power and speed is very comparable to Garrett and he will be an immediate impact player on defense.

The fact that Latu can dominate with power or speed will make his rise up the draft boards quickly. In fact, he may rise to the top defensive end in this draft class. He uses his hands properly and moves quickly for his burly frame. His consistency and adaptability will likely make him the number one defensive end by the time draft night approaches. He can also drop back into coverage and disrupt the passing game. General managers want to list him as the top-edge rusher without a doubt.

2. Jared Verse- Florida State– Verse is another edge rusher who has both the power and speed to be an effective pass rusher at the next level. His numbers may not leap out like Latu’s but he’s going to wreak hovac against the passing game. He has the size and speed to contain and pressure NFL Quarterbacks.

3. Demeioun “Chop” Robinson- Penn State – Robinson is another powerful edge rusher who can easily get past a big, burly offensive lineman. He also has effective closing speed to disrupt a Quarterback’s timing. He’s effective at shutting down the running game too. He won’t have too much difficulty handling double-teams and blocking Tight Ends either.

4. Dallas Turner- Alabama Crimson Tide– Turner may be the top finesse edge rusher but he’s not powerful. He is not as versatile as Latu but he can be a game-wrecker against the running game. It’s unknown how much of a pass rusher he’ll be at the best level if he gets double-teamed by an offensive lineman or has a tight end assigned to block him. Other than that, he displays flashy quickness and can occasionally use his finesse moves to take down quarterbacks. He needs to get stronger to be able to display the versatility necessary to pressure NFL Quarterbacks. He looks like he’s fourth best in the draft class because, at the moment, teams can use strategies to limit his effectiveness. If he bulks up a bit, that can change. He has some versatility already but has the potential to develop that trait.