Laiatu Latu

	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
1	Laiatu Latu	Defensive End	UCLA	Senior	4-Star Recruit (95)	Summer Scouting Report
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3	Positional Rank	Grade	Height	Weight	2023 Run Stop Rate	2023 Pass Rush Win Rate	2023 PFF Grade
4	2	Early-Mid 1st	6'5	259	6.9%	25.6%	96.2
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6	Year	Pass Rush Snaps	Run Defense Snaps	Inside Tackle	Over Tackle	Outside Tackle	Off Ball
7	2023	307	210	32	32	450	21
8	2022	319	151	29	41	412	12
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10	Year	Total Tackles	Tackles for Loss	Sacks (Partial = 1)	Hits	Hurries	Pressure Rate
11	2023	49	21.5	15	11	37	20.52%
12	2022	36	12.5	12	8	45	20.38%
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14	Overview:
15	Strengths	Notes
16	Deconstructing Blocks	Shedding blocks and keeping his hands active allows him to generate tons of pressure, which has led to a ridiculous sack total this season.
17	Speed Rush Technique	He is as refined as they come at the college level.
18	Navigating Traffic	Latu scoots around players with quick hand swipes and lateral movements like they aren't even there.
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20	Weaknesses	Notes
21	Length on Power	His power rushes usually do not hit home, and he lacks the length to consistently maintain inside leverage.
22	Inside Run Defense	His run defense is decent and vastly improved from 2022, but is still a comparatively a weaker part of his game.
23	Twitch	He is just not as athletic or twitchy as the other top edge rushers in class.
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25	Film
26	Game	Takeaways
27	Utah (09/23/2023)	Appropriate angles. Good bend and drive. Great inside movements on run defense. Excellent use of length on effective pass rush move. Reliable run defender. Uses his arms and hands tremendously well. Efficient release and consistently active hands. Excellent block shedder play after play in run game. Fights through multiple blockers as if he is mad at them. Could have better body angles on bull rush. Quick arm over. Plays well from both two and three point stances. Not the best balance. Not a ton of pure pass rush snaps where he could go all out, but was excellent in limited reps.						Run defense is vastly improved from 2022. First round tape and can play effectively in any scheme.
28	Oregon State (10/14/2023)	Excellent hand placement and aggression on pass rush moves. Efficient and quick release. Navigates traffic so well - best in class. Pushed off of gap by Fuaga. Decent in coverage. Swapped to speed move when power didn't work. Hand usage on speed rush is incredible. Keeps hands and arms active throughout the duration of the rush. Suboptimal angle on power rush. Not ideal speed to power. Adequate open field fluidity in coverage, but does not compare to prospects like Dallas Turner. Arm over is quick and crisp. Consistently quick first step. As refined as they come in college football.						Getting better still as the season progresses. Early-Mid 1st grade.
29	USC (11/18/2023)	Refined technique through and through. Pulls off block for good inside run defense. Doubled often. Combo moves are high level with great execution. Very creative. Lacks elite explosiveness. Crazy active hands. Rather long arms with good grip. Push pull is effective. Most diverse pass rush arsenal in all of college football. Surprisingly good bend. Could afford a bit more strength. Can hold the point of attack. Plows through halfback, as he should. Hand placement is immaculate. Made an impact on every passing play throughout the entire game.						Every down impact player, but lacks high end athleticism to warrant a grade of top 10 - although he may still be a top 10 pick. Early-Mid 1st.
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31	Attributes		Grade / 100	Notes
32	Attributes	Bend	81	Plays rather upright, but occasionally displays decent bend.
33		Burst	78	Better timing than acute acceleration.
34		Motor	92	Keeps working through the duration of every play with secondary and tertiary deconstruction moves.
35	Skillset	Pass Rush	97	Highly refined. Not 99 due to athleticism alone.
36		Run Defense	84	His tackling must improve
37		Coverage	70	Able to drop into coverage when need be.
38	Hands	Placement	99	Best hand placement of any prospect in several years.
39		Effectiveness	97	Highly effective hands that could only improve with some additional twitch and strength.
40		Quickness	90	Very quick, but his precision is what makes his hands so effective.
41	Line Control	Strength	80	Needs to gain some strength.
42	Line Control	Balance	79	Balance could still improve, but not detrimental.
43	Pass-Rush	Versatility	96	Has just about everything in his arsenal aside from raw power.
44		Technique	99	Best pass rushing technique in this draft and many before it.
45		Execution	97	Only additional strength and burst could assist in execution.
46	Traits	Agility	86	Moderate agility compared to the other top edge prospects.
47		Athleticism	83	Not a bad athlete, but worse than expected for his pedigree.
48		Length	75	Appears to have average to above average arm-length.
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50	Final Scouting Report
51	After medically retiring from football altogether in 2020, Laiatu Latu returned in 2022 and set the world on fire. With 27 sacks over the last two seasons with over a 20% pressure rate in each of those seasons, no one has been a better pass rusher than Latu. His technique is legitimately as refined as anyone's who has ever declared for the NFL Draft. With impeccable hand placement, a variety of well-executed pass rush moves, and uncanny block deconstruction, Latu can make an impact on each and every play. It is not all sunshine and rainbows with Latu, however. A medical retirement due to a neck injury is nothing to gloss over. He could have recurring issues and be forced out of football at any moment. Although no signs of this have occurred over the last two seasons since his return, it could still deter teams from drafting Latu as highly as he deserves with medically safer options on the board. Latu is as safe as they come regarding how his skillset should translate to the NFL, but the medical retirement will be in the back of everyone's minds. Regarding his on-field play, Latu noticeably lacks twitch and high-end athleticism. His contact angles are rather upright, and his burst alone should never beat an NFL offensive tackle. His refinement is highly impressive, but it would be unsurprising to see him fall in the draft due to his moderate athleticism along with his injury history. If Latu is drafted in the first round, then he should be the odds on favorite for DROY. His pass rush arsenal and ability to make an impact on every down cannot be overstated, and he should be able to continue making an impact early on in the NFL. Latu may lack the athleticism to ever become a Parsons, Bosa, or Garrett type of prospect, but the reliability and skill set he brings is worthy of an early-mid first round draft pick.
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