Florida Gators OL Top Play at Position in PFF’s Top 10 for 2026 NFL Draft

The Florida Gators offensive lineman's All-American season gave him some high draft prospects

Slaughter's draft outlook is looking pretty good / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

The Florida Gators are coming off the best season of the Billy Napier Era so far. They finished the season 8-5 and won the Gasparilla Bowl against the Tulane Green Wave, 33-8. A massive reason why they were successful was the fact that they were able to keep their quarterbacks upright. The Gators’ quarterbacks were only sacked a combined 20 times (13 for D.J. Lagway, four for Graham Mertz and three for Aidan Warner).

AP All-American Center Jake Slaughter was pivotal to that success. He was responsible for just one sack all season long in over 800 snaps for the Gators' offense. According to Pro Football Focus, Slaughter was the only Power Four center to earn a grade higher than 80.0 in both pass blocking and run blocking in PFF’s grading system. Slaughter earned a grade of 85.5 in 2023. The only center that eclipses that is Jackson Powers-Johnson, who now plays on Sundays for the Las Vegas Raiders. 

Slaughter’s name fits him perfectly as he has shut down SEC defensive stars as long as he was on the field. Players like Walter Nolen, Deone Walker and Shemar Turner have all struggled against the Gators’ team captain. 

At the moment, PFF’s 2026 mock draft has Slaughter landing with the Houston Texans, a team that desperately needs to shore up its offensive line. This past season, the Texans gave up 54 sacks, 52 of which star quarterback C.J. Stroud took. It was the third-worst in the NFL. Getting someone as proficient as Slaughter, who can handle the stars of the NFL will be important for them if he falls to them at pick No. 20.  For now, Slaughter will just want to focus on his final season with the Gators. 

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