Shortly after the 2018 football season ended, Jaelan Phillips medically retired from football. Once the No. 1 recruit of the Class of 2017, the pass rusher’s time at UCLA was largely defined by injuries, including concussions and a wrist injury caused when he was hit by a car.
Just a few years later, Phillips was a first-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft after coming back from his brief retirement to play for the Miami Hurricanes where he earned Second Team All-American honors in 2020.
While Laiatu Latu never crossed paths with Phillips at UCLA, the pass rusher can relate to that journey. Just three years ago, Latu was medically retired by the Washington Huskies due to a neck injury. Like Phillips, he revived his football career after a transfer and earned All-American honors in 2023 with the Bruins.
“I know he kind of went through something similar where he almost medically retired — or pretty much medically retired — and I heard about that,” Latu said of Phillips, via Hal Habib of the Palm Beach Post. “And it’s definitely encouraging to hear that and it definitely helps me get through a lot, too.”
The Dolphins’ decision to draft Phillips was a risk that has paid off. In 42 games with Miami, the pass rusher has 22 sacks and was off to a career-best start in 2023 before an Achilles tear ended his season in November.
Would the team make a similar risk by taking Latu at No. 21 overall on Thursday? ESPN Analytics and The Athletic’s Dane Brugler think so.
“The Dolphins weren’t scared off by Jaelan Phillips’ injury past, and I don’t think they will shy away from Latu’s either,” Brugler wrote last week.
Latu finished the 2023 season with 13 sacks, 21.5 tackles for loss, and two interceptions.
