Rashawn Slater Makes Sense in Philly

The Philadelphia Eagles are picking at 12 with a ton of options with where they may want to go with the pick. Rebuilding the offensive line for future years is a huge must for me personally. If Rashawn Slater is there and Patrick Surtain is off the board then the birds should strongly consider the functional 5 position lineman out of Northwestern.

Draft Profile

College: Northwestern
Position: OT (Functional 5 Position Lineman)
Class: Senior (Opted Out Last Season)
Hometown: Sugarland, TX
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 304 lbs
Arms: 33″
Hands: 10.5″
Draft Projection: Round 1 – Top 15

Rashawn Slater projects as a Tackle, Guard and some say even Center. He started right tackle as a true freshman and finished his college career on the left side. In looking at the different highlight reels, the thing I love most about Slater is he consistently seems to gain half yard to a yard advantage off the snap of the ball. Below he consistently handles, 2020 NFL Rookie of the Year, Chase Young with his physical hands getting a nice punch off the snap.

All of Rashawn Slater's 2019 snaps against Chase Young…Slater is number 70 at LT. pic.twitter.com/Uzf6He3adT
— Nick Falato (@nickfalato) April 1, 2021

The only true knock on Rashawn Slater is that he doesn’t have the desired size and length for an NFL tackle. Scouts see the length as an issue because it creates some separation for the defensive end giving room to make a move. Slater has shown through balanced body control and great footwork that he can overcome the length. It would also be a complete non-issue if teams decided to play him on the inside rather then tackle.

The Eagles love having versatile offensive lineman so drafting Slater makes sense given he could fill up the hole at guard or the left tackle position. He could even take over for Jason Kelce. Rashawn Slater might end up being the top lineman in this entire draft so grab him at 12 and plug one of the gaping holes in the offensive line.