Daniel Jeremiah’s Mock Draft 1.0 dropped on Friday and he has UCLA Bruins edge rusher Laiatu Latu going to the hometown team, Los Angeles Rams.
Many of the credible mock drafts have Laiatu Latu going in the teens and most have him as the second or third edge rusher taken in the draft. That does give the Rams a shot at drafting the 6’5″ 237 lbs Carmichael, CA native.
The Rams are in desperate need of an edge rusher after finishing 6th worst in pass rush rate and only 34.5 percent of their total pressures (133) came from their two starting edge rushers, rookie Byron Young (30) and converted defensive lineman, Michael Hoecht (16)
What The UCLA Bruins Defender Offers The Rams
In his senior season, Latu racked up an impressive stat sheet of 13 sacks and 21.5 tackles for loss as well as 49 tackles in 12 games. That put him fourth most in the nation in sacks with the 5th highest sacks per game. He outperformed the edge rushers mocked ahead of him, Dallas Turner and Jared Verse. Over his two seasons at UCLA, Latu accounted for 34 tackles for loss, 23.5 sacks, and five forced fumbles.
Latu has a freakishly fast first step and has a good arsenal of attack. He is also the draft class’s best with his hands. Injury history may scare teams away. Latu suffered a neck injury that temporarily ended his football career.
