Chargers Draft Elite Athlete Jake Slaughter to Protect Herbert but Questions Remain

The Chargers drafted Jake Slaughter out of Florida with their lone pick on Day 2, who has been a career center and has never played guard. Explore his skills and background.

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The Los Angeles Chargers had an interesting Day 2 of the NFL draft. They entered the day with the 55th and 86th pick and left with two trades out of their picks to gain more capital on day three and only one player selected at pick No. 63 of the second round.

The Chargers selected center Jake Slaughter out of Florida. The pick has been met with mixed reviews and confusion. Slaughter has never played guard before and was widely projected as a center only. Hortiz pushed back on the center-only narrative at their end-of-day two press conference. Hortiz said that they had debates and looked into whether he has the position flexibility and noted they believe that in this system, they believe he does.

Joe Hortiz's comments about position flexibility, specifically in this system, will be a key point to reference back to as we discuss how Slaughter fits for the Chargers.

What Jake Slaughter brings to the party

Jake Slaughter is a multi-year SEC starter who has an impressive resume of accolades, including a first and second team All-American selection and a two-time All-SEC selection. He has consistently been graded as one of the top centers in college football by Pro Football Focus.

Slaughter is renowned for his work ethic, intelligence and football character. He is a bit polarizing amongst draft analysts simply because his style is not for everyone.

Slaughter is a top of the food chain athlete for an interior offensive lineman. When compared to his peers, he is on the undersized side of the equation but elite in every available athletic testing metric.

Jake Slaughter's updated RAS card switching from Center to Guard. pic.twitter.com/WNZS7pwHY9

— Thomas Martinez (@BoltsDraftTalk) April 25, 2026

When evaluating Slaughter, his strengths are his burst out of his stance, similar to that of Cole Strange and his ability to quickly create angles on opposing defenders. As a pass blocker, he is quick footed and sees games and stunts happening across from him.

Slaughter's traits and film draw an easy comparison to Cole Strange. Both are smaller for the position and have similar athletic traits. This comparison is why Slaughter may be able to play guard in this particular system with Mike McDaniel.

Cole Strange's RAS card looks awfully similar to Slaughter's pic.twitter.com/YPx6QbdvhU

— Thomas Martinez (@BoltsDraftTalk) April 25, 2026

Why Slaughter is getting mixed reviews

Jake Slaughter has never played guard before and in a traditional guard sense, it doesn't appear on the surface that he could. Slaughter struggles with powerful defensive lineman, both in the run and pass game. Slaughter is more of a finesse blocker who utilizes angles well but shows little power to move a defender off of their spot.

After watching Justin Herbert get battered and bruised, a guard who has never played the position before and struggles with power does not sound like a winning formula. However, in this wide zone system where trusting angles and quickness to climb to the second level matter, it may work. The unknown is the underlying factor with the mixed reviews.

The Chargers needed to add a true starting-caliber guard to the mix in their offensive line room. The Chargers front office may believe that Slaughter can be that guy, but there is no proof of concept. For a team that allowed its franchise quarterback to be hit at historic rates in 2025, the uncertainty leaves room for questions.

Strategy of Slaughter selection

I wrote after the selection of Akheem Mesidor in the first round that the Chargers should not tempt fate and take their guy early on Day 2 and not wait until the third round. Joe Hortiz followed that path after a trade down with the New England Patriots from the 55th pick to the 63rd pick.

The real eye opener was the lack of other offensive linemen in a similar range. Most analysts expected guards like Emmanuel Pregnon and Gennings Dunker to hear their names called in the second round. The fact that both Pregnon and Dunker, along with several other linemen, went off the board towards the bottom of round three indicates the Chargers had the board properly valued and took the one guy they had their eyes on after trading back at pick 63.

Jake Slaughter's success will depend on whether he can manage the range difference moving from center to guard in the NFL. He may ultimately move back to center at some point on his rookie contract, but for now, the Chargers appear to hope that he can match Cole Strange's movement and fit in a McDaniel-led offense.