If all things were even and teams primarily were worried about getting after the quarterback, it’s hard to believe UCLA edge rusher Laiatu Latu would last long after the run on quarterbacks to start this month’s NFL draft.

But, as always, things aren’t that simple. While at the University of Wisconsin, Latu was forced to retire due to a neck injury. Latu found a more lenient (irresponsible?) doctor to give him a green light and Latu resumed his career at UCLA.

There, he became a total beast of a pass rusher. On video, this Latu looks just like a Bosa. Relentless pass rush.

Some believe because of his medical history, teams will be spooked and he will drop in the draft. So Joe wonders, how high is too high to draft Latu, assuming he is cleared by team doctors?

Is No. 26 too high?

That might be something for the Bucs to wrestle with. Emory Hunt of CBS, the Czar of the Playbook, believes Latu is the No. 1 edge rusher in the draft as he pointed out in his “Football Gameplan 2024 Draft Guide.”

Strengths:
– Has a great combination of eyes and hands. His eyes are always on the prize and his hands are the ways he gets there by constantly activating them to get off block after block.
– Relentless player who does a great job on both ends of defense in pursuit. Arguably one of the best in the class in that aspect. A very good athlete with a non-stop motor.
– An underrated POA player who can get physical in the trenches.

Areas of Improvement:
– Despite the sack production, he’s still a very raw pass rusher in terms of signified ways to get there. Can definitely smooth out the rough edges within his game.
– Needs to continue to get stronger, which will help with his balance as a player; as he’s on the ground a lot.

If Latu slipped to No. 26, for the top pass rusher in the draft to fall that far is enough of a red flag for Joe to take pause. If Latu is there when the Bucs pick, well, Joe already is having flashbacks to guitar-strumming, pistol-packing Da’Quan Bowers. He too was a stud pass rusher but fell to the Bucs in the second round due to a bum knee.

We all know how that worked out.

Then again, the Bucs are so bereft of an edge rush, Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht might have to roll the dice.

But here might be a reason why the Bucs don’t draft Latu and it has nothing to do with his neck. Per Sports Information Solutions, a football stats outfit, Latu is not a great run defender.

We all know how much Bucs coach Todd Bowles covets run defense. It’s difficult for Joe to believe Bowles would be OK spending a first-round pick on a defender who isn’t adept at stopping the run.

Yes, to be fair, the Bucs drafted Joe Tryon-Shoyinka in the first round even though he wasn’t known as a run-stopper. But remember, Bowles was not head coach then. It was Bucco Bruce Arians.

Just based on this alone, and not even factoring in Latu’s neck, Joe would be a little surprised if the Bucs drafted Latu even though the Bucs currently are banking on hope (YaYa Diaby) and a prayer (JTS) to put opposing quarterbacks on their arses.