There were high hopes for the Indianapolis Colts' 2024 draft class, and for Laiatu Latu in particular. Latu was seen as a front-runner for Defensive Rookie of the Year, but the Adonai Mitchell pick was more controversial; Mitchell has Type 1 diabetes, and some teams felt he didn't manage his condition well. The other notable picks were Tanor Bortolini, Matt Goncalves, Dalton Tucker, Anthony Gould, and Jaylon Carlies, who - as later picks - flew more under the radar as far as expectations for the 2024 season.
So how did the rookies do? According to draft rankings for Pro Football Focus, this draft class was incredibly underwhelming, falling at #24 out of 32 teams. But it seems that most of this can be blamed squarely at one person.
"First-round edge rusher Laiatu Latu was solid in his first pro season, reaching a 14.0% pass-rush win rate and 38 quarterback pressures on a below-average defensive line. The Colts also received surprising workloads from offensive linemen Matt Goncalves and Dalton Tucker as they endured injuries to starters, with both players playing 460 or more snaps. This upcoming season will be paramount for second-round pick Adonai Mitchell, who dropped 14.8% of catchable targets — the fourth-highest rate for any receiver with 20 or more targets."Pro Football Focus
Goncalves and Tucker both ended up stepping in when various members of the offensive line, playing decently well; Bortolini likewise filled in for Ryan Kelly when he was placed on injured reserve, and proved himself to be the future of the position. Carlies likewise ended up missing playing time due to injury, and Gould mainly saw action on special teams.
Yet the biggest disappointment ended up being Adonai Mitchell. While he impressed at training camp his performance during the season left much to be desired. Still, there is clearly talent there, and the hope is that his less-than-stellar 2024 season was just the rookie learning curve taking effect. It also didn't help that there was such instability at the QB position, so there is every reason to be optimistic that Mitchell could improve in 2025.