WESTFIELD, Ind. – Maybe the best compliment Laiatu Latu has received since arriving for his first NFL training camp last week is that he's flying under the radar, at least in the Colts' locker room.
"I ain't gonna lie, when I meet a young dude, the less I hear them the more I like them," linebacker Zaire Franklin said on this week's edition of The Last Word. "Like when they first walk in, when you don't even know when they're around, you're like, you know what, you might actually be one of them boys. Latu, he's humble, he's appreciative. The gratitude, it seeps out of his pores. That's only gonna serve him. He's a worker, he's a dog."
Latu did not arrive at Grand Park this week taking anything for granted. And through the Colts' first two practices in Westfield, defensive coordinator Gus Bradley has seen the 2024 first-round pick gracefully handle the early mental and physical rigors of training camp.
Plenty of rookies, Bradley said, get caught playing slower or with sub-optimal effort during the early part of training camp, which is focused heavily on installing the defense. That can be a mentally taxing task for a rookie to digest a certain play and then go practice it fast. But Latu hasn't fallen into any of those pitfalls so far.
"It doesn't seem to be slowing him down," Bradley said. "That probably is the most impressive (thing), we have a lot going in but it hasn't affected his speed on the field."
Latu's well-developed repertoire of pass rushing moves have led to some standout reps during these early practices, but those come with an acknowledgement that the real test lies ahead when the pads come on.
"I'm not gonna lie, I love Latu, (but) the D-line, it's a little different," Franklin said. "I gotta see you with the pads on, I gotta see what it looks like when you're running into Quenton (Nelson). It's a little different than when it's shirts and shorts. At the same time, I love what I see from him, he's been putting the work in and that's all you can ask."
The Colts will hold their first padded practice of training camp soon enough. And when they do – and things get more physical – Bradley wants to see the same things he's already seen from Latu show up.
"Right now we're seeing a skill set that we saw in college — his speed off the ball, his moves," Bradley said. "But once the pads come on, now can he, when he doesn't know if it's (run or pass), can he convert run to pass, can you have all those moves, see that skill set transfer over into all situations. So he seems like he's heading in the right direction."
News & notes
- Quarterback Joe Flacco did not participate in Saturday's practice while attending former Baltimore Ravens teammate Jacoby Jones' funeral.
- Overall, Saturday's practice was a stronger day for the defense. A few standout plays: Rookie cornerback Jaylin Simpson had a pass break-up in 11-on-11, cornerback Kenny Moore II's sticky coverage forced an incompletion in seven-on-seven, and rookie linebacker Jaylon Carlies recorded the first interception of training camp on a pass tipped in the air by cornerback Ameer Speed.
- Quarterback Anthony Richardson used a creative arm angle to rip an intermediate pass to wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. during 11-on-11. He also connected on a deep ball with wide receiver Josh Downs in 11-on-11.
- Rookie wide receiver Anthony Gould accelerated to snag a deep ball from rookie quarterback Kedon Slovis during 11-on-11.
- Quarterback Sam Ehlinger connected on a deep ball to tight end and former Westlake High School teammate Kylen Granson during 11-on-11.
