'It's got a chance to be a special group': How Laiatu Latu, DeForest Buckner can lift 'D'

Indianapolis Star

3 days ago

WESTFIELD -- The Colts starting offense lined up for a snap of 11-on-11 and saw something that made their heads spin.
There stood DeForest Buckner and Laiatu Latu, next to each other. And even as the offensive line and the rest of the defensive line crouched into their three-point stances, the two remained standing up ahead of a snap.
And then came the chaos.
Buckner and Latu made life a chore for the offense in a practice that Shane Steichen designed to feel like a live scrimmage. Thanks to their ability to squeeze the edge and collapse the middle, multiple drives stalled for would-be sacks or resulted in desperate heaves above receivers' heads from Anthony Richardson Sr. and Daniel Jones.
'It's great," said new defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, who was nicknamed "Dr. Lou" with the Bengals for the ways he confused Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen with different looks in playoff games.
"... Latu's not a veteran but really explosive guy and working with Buck and Kwity (Paye) when he's out there, Tyquan (Lewis) and the whole group, Samson (Ebukam) – it's got a chance to be a special group.'
In those glimpses lies a model the Colts have to chase on defense in their current state.
After all, the one they built this offseason to ride or die with is a little out of commission.
Bringing in Anarumo, as well as veteran defensive backs coaches Jerome Henderson and Chris Hewitt, was a precursor to a rare free agent spending spree from general manager Chris Ballard in the secondary. He dropped $65 million combined on outside cornerback Charvarius Ward and Camryn Bynum before spending a third-round draft pick on Justin Walley.
Ward and Bynum have more than looked their parts so far, and so did Walley, but he's been lost for the season to a torn ACL. It's just a part of the rash of injuries at the cornerback position that have had Jaylon Jones and JuJu Brents out for weeks with hamstring issues and Pro Bowl nickel cornerback Kenny Moore II leaving Sunday's practice after screaming into his helmet with a knee injury. Additionally, strong safety Nick Cross has missed three straight practices with a hip flexor.
It means that the infrastructure that Bynum and Ward were supposed to elevate has dropped down to rookies and career backups rotating through the other three starting spots.
That brings elements of the group, for now, back closer to where it was last year. Moore was the Pro Bowler glueing that unit together, with Cross and Jones taking clear strides but issues at other spots, where Julian Blackmon played out of position with a separated shoulder and where Brents missed all but two games.
But if there's hope for a better pass defense despite it, it rests in the defensive line. Like last year, it remains one of the most expensive units in the game. But unlike last year, it comes with the propensity to blitz from Anarumo and, the Colts hope, a better and more cohesive tag team between Buckner and Latu.
Buckner was his usual All-Pro self when he played last season, but he went on injured reserve and missed five games. He still finished with 6.5 sacks for the seventh season in a row. Now, he's healthy and rejuvenated again.
Latu struggled at times as a rookie, as he tried to live on his speed rushes, became predictable and reacted to quick throws and on critical downs by taking wide rushes out of his gap assignments. He amassed 36 pressures and 20 hurries but only four sacks.
"He was frustrated his first year," Buckner said. "... I told him, I had those moments my rookie year as well. I told him that all my sacks didn't come until the second half of the season of my rookie season. ... There's an added pressure to being the team's No. 1 pick and being a first-round pick."
Latu knew he had to become a more versatile and mysterious rusher. His 6-foot-5, 259-pound body can limit it to a degree, so he worked on specific moves to round out the overall package he can throw at opposing tackles. He's been showing that off in training camp with consistent pressures, including times where he flushed Lamar Jackson from the pocket in last week's joint practice with the Ravens.
"My offseason, I definitely honed in on a lot of power and being able to work off of that. I feel like I've been demonstrating that more this camp as opposed to last year," Latu said. "... I didn't try to change my body. I'm relatively the same other than getting my muscles mass up and stuff.
"Everything I've been doing has been to get better at being a D-End in the position on the field that Lou and the defense need me to be."
Now, Buckner is able to see the tweaks Latu is making by the day and give him pointers on how to round it out with the knowledge he's gained from 141 career games over nine seasons.
"Pass rush is just such a game of chess. It's the game within the game," Buckner said. "Being able to set up your go-to moves, you've got to set it up with a little bit of power to keep the offensive linemen guessing.
"Once you set them up, you get them guessing and making them feel, 'OK, this guy can power me,' he's going to start setting a little bit more stout, and that's when you can start hitting them more on the edge."
Between a 295-pound 3-technique and a 259-pound edge rusher both taken in the first round, the Colts have the means to keep offenses guessing. Kind of like when they both stand up to rush the passer.