Here is a look at the top EDGE players in the 2024 NFL Draft, headlined by UCLA’s Laiatu Latu and Alabama’s Dallas Turner.
1: Laiatu Latu, UCLA
Latu was a two-time National Champion on the rugby pitch in high school and was rated as the fourth-best defensive end from the 2019 recruiting class. He originally enrolled at Washington, where he sustained a neck injury that caused him to miss two seasons before getting medically cleared to play and transferring to UCLA prior to the 2022 campaign. Despite the extended time off, Latu wasted little time annihilating Pac-12 offensive lines for 65 pressures, 10.5 sacks and a 91st % pass rush grade (5th in P5) while winning the College Football Comeback Player of the Year award. Latu’s play ascended further last year, as he led the entire edge position with a 94.3 pass rush grade and 96th percentile overall grade with 13.0 sacks. His 26% win rate and and 13.3% pressure rate were also tops nationally, as Latu solidified himself as the premier pure pass rusher from the 2024 class. Though he recorded 33 stops and an 82.1 run defense grade, his 24% missed tackle rate underscores Latu’s limitations in run support.
Latu measured in at 6’046”, 259 pounds and ran an impressive 4.64s 40-yard dash (94th%) with a 7.09s 3-Cone (85th%) and 4.34 shuttle run (83rd%). He didn’t bench and put up a pedestrian 32” vert (55th%), but Latu’s overall athletic profile adds up to a strong 9.37 RAS.
Latu doesn’t just run headlong into every rush snap, will triangulate and vary tempo when necessary to catch OT’s reaching. Lightning quick literally with a smooth slide step that will often cause the opposing tackle to completely whiff on contact, leaving Latu unabated to make a play. Despite some limitations standing up to mammoth OTs in run support, he’s fast enough to consistently beat…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/2024-nfl-draft-edge-rankings-181233042.html
Author : NBC Sports
Publish date : 2024-04-12 18:12:33
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