Chargers' Risky Draft Pick Already Had Some Interesting OTAs Usage

The Chargers rolled the dice on an early draft pick and are going slow with the experiment.

Jim Harbaugh | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Chargers took some heat when they drafted Jake Slaughter this year. 

Makes sense: After years of gross neglect on the interior of Justin Herbert’s offensive line, the Chargers appeared to underwhelm again in free agency, adding Cole Strange and doing very little at the other guard spot. 

By the time the Chargers got to the draft, it almost felt inevitable that they would use a Round 1 pick on a guard. Or, at worst, Round 2. 

The Chargers did, but with a big caveat: Slaughter, picked in the second round, was a center who never played a snap of guard. The Chargers merely hope his athleticism and traits will help him move to guard in the pros. 

So far at Chargers OTAs…the process has started at a crawl. 

Chargers rookie doesn’t get first chance at starting reps

Jake Slaughter | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Chargers aren’t going to fully trial-by-fire Slaughter just yet, it seems. 

According to Daniel Popper of The Athletic, veterans Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt at the tackle spots, plus new center Tyler Biadasz, all got nods with the first team. But at left guard? Not strange, but quiet free-agent signing Kayode Awosika. 

“In between Slater and Alt, Tyler Biadasz was at center, and Cole Strange was at right guard,” Popper wrote. “Kayode Awosika got the first chance at left guard with that group, but rookie second-round pick Jake Slaughter also got reps at left guard alongside Biadasz, Slater, Alt and Strange. Trevor Penning was working off to the side for Wednesday’s practice.”

Maybe it’s a good sign that Slaughter is getting any work with names like Alt and Slater this early on at all. Hard to say from the outside. 

But as Popper notes, it feels like Strange is locked in at right guard, while Slaughter, Awosika and Trevor Penning will have something of an open competition for the starting left guard spot. 

We’ll see if this sort of three-way battle lasts deep into training camp.

In theory, Slaughter has the same athletic profile as Strange that new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel likes, so it could all easily work out in the end. That’s especially the case with McDaniel emphasizing getting the ball out fast. 

But for Chargers fans who didn’t love the Slaughter pick in the first place, it sure would be nice to comfortably know that a guard drafted to play guard was getting all of the unquestioned first-team reps right now before camp.

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