The Indianapolis Colts need another breakout edge rusher. Last season, Laiatu Latu was that guy, and now he just needs to keep improving. He needs some help, though, and that might come in the person of Jaylahn Tuimoloau.
Tuimoloau, who some might still want to call "JT" even though that is only his initials and not his actual name, and he has now asked to be called by his first name, was a second-round draft pick in 2025. He wasn't good as a rookie, but giving up on any player after one season would be foolish.
The truth is that Latu wasn't very good as a rookie in 2024, either. He produced four sacks and five tackles for loss, which, for a first-round draft pick, underwhelmed. Thankfully, he proved his draft value with a second-year leap in which he amassed 8.5 sacks, 12 tackles for loss, and 61 total quarterback pressures. Numbers that could continue to go up.
Jaylahn Tuimoloau might be just the player Indianapolis Colts' Laiatu Latu needs in 2026
Tuimoloau could be set to take an even bigger leap in his second season, especially after doing next to nothing as a rookie. He didn't have a sack, and he had just one tackle for loss. He whiffed on 16.7 percent of his tackle attempts. Sometimes it takes a year for a player to acclimate to the speed and power of the NFL.
General manager Chris Ballard still has faith in the player he took just last year. In his pre-draft press conference, the GM said, "We got a young (edge rusher) in Jaylahn that we like, that I think has some upside...I think Jaylahn's got some real upside. I do."
Of course, he better believe that. Ballard's team has to make the playoffs in 2026, something Indy has done only twice in the GM's nine years on the job and not at all since 2020, or he should be out of a job. Sometimes, a team succeeds or fails not based on the personnel decisions a general manager makes, but in the culture he helps set. That last part is in question for the Colts.
For Ballard and the team to succeed, they need Jaylahn Tuimoloau to be much better, and the Ohio State product very well could be. The 6'4 1/4" and 265-pound edge rusher has the needed strength to assert himself in year two. What he likely wasn't prepared for is how his strength would match up against those of NFL offensive linemen.
Now he knows that, and the test is whether he can adapt and use the knowledge gained. He was a second-round selection for a reason, and he might just be the breakout star that the Indianapolis Colts need in 2026.
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