Tedarrell
Slaton.
Tedarrell
Slaton.
Florida· 6'4"· 330 lb· 5.09s 40
"A 6'4", 330-pound Florida nose tackle with 27 bench reps and a functional 8.39 RAS for his mass — modest career production (2.5 sacks over three seasons) forced a Day-3 grade on a true two-gap run-plugger."Pre-draft read
He aligns as a shaded 1-technique or 0-technique in odd or even fronts. At 330 pounds, he surprisingly wins pad-level battles against center/guard double teams. He sinks his hips at contact, absorbs down blocks effectively, and forces running backs to bounce or cut their paths inside. His first-step quickness is average.
His hands are heavy, but his counter-move tree is limited. He primarily relies on a bull-rush and long-arm technique rather than a developed pass-rush plan, impacting snap-to-snap pressure. His effort against the run is honest when fresh, but conditioning can lead to leverage loss on later carries. Best utilized in a base 3-4 or 4-3 under scheme, playing 20-30 snaps as a nose tackle to free up the 3-technique. He does not project as a subpackage rusher.
Slaton is a quintessential two-gapping 3-4 defensive end, capable of absorbing double teams and holding the line of scrimmage against power run schemes.
Rotational two-gap nose in Year 1, capable of developing into a starter who controls the A-gaps and sets up linebackers for plays within a base 3-4 or 4-3 under front.
He would struggle in a pass-rush heavy, wide-9 attacking front that prioritizes disruptive penetration over holding ground and absorbing blocks.
Slaton's value is directly tied to his ability to anchor against the run; his limited pass-rush arsenal and conditioning concerns restrict him to a specific early-down role.
T.J. Slaton Packers interior film
NFL reps at nose tackle showing anchor and two-gap work.
T.J. Slaton nose tackle breakdown
All-22 style cut of Slaton at 1-tech for Green Bay.
T.J. Slaton run-defense reps
Base-down run stops and doubles reps from Slaton's Packers tape.
Slaton projects as a prototype two-gap nose tackle, offering a team an early-down anchor for their defensive line. His primary value lies in his ability to absorb blocks and disrupt run lanes, leveraging his size and functional strength. His 8.39 RAS, highlighted by a 5.09 forty-yard dash, indicates an athletic profile that belies his 330-pound frame, suggesting more than just a space-eater inside. A team would draft him for his run-stuffing floor and the potential for rotational starter snaps, understanding his ceiling is tied to that limited role.
At Florida, he rotated across three seasons, primarily as an early-down anchor, which limited his statistical production to 66 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and 7.5 tackles for loss during his time there. He was used against SEC competition, with his best performances coming against opponents like LSU, Auburn, and Georgia. His role as a rotational player meant he rarely exceeded 35 snaps per game.
Evaluators consistently projected him as a Day 3 selection, typically in the 5th or 6th round. The primary concerns included a limited pass-rush plan and questions regarding his conditioning. The trade-off was a true two-gap nose with solid functional movement for his size. He was selected by Green Bay in the 5th round at pick 173.
- 01
Anchor at the point of attack
At 330 pounds, he demonstrates leverage strength to win pad-level battles against double teams, sinking his hips to force running backs to alter their routes.
- 02
Functional athleticism for size
His 8.39 Relative Athletic Score indicates genuine movement ability for a 330-pound lineman, including a 5.09 forty-yard and 4.81 shuttle time.
- 03
Play strength and grip
With 27 bench-press reps and heavy hands, he can stack a center, control a gap, and shed blocks to make tackles at the mesh point on gap-scheme runs.
- 04
SEC-level competition
His three seasons rotating against top SEC interior linemen prepared him for the physical demands of NFL run-front play.
- 05
Two-gap projection
Possesses the prototype body type of a 0- or 1-technique, ideal for odd fronts and short-yardage situations, fitting a common Day 3 draft archetype.
- 01
Pass-rush plan
Relies predominantly on a bull-rush and long-arm technique, lacking a developed counter tree or consistent hand technique to disengage from blocks.
- 02
Conditioning and snap counts
Shows decreased leverage on later reps within a drive, and Florida consistently rotated him, rarely exceeding 35 snaps per game.
- 03
Modest career production
His career totals of 2.5 sacks and 7.5 TFL over three SEC seasons are modest, with flashes of disruption often not translating into finished plays.
- 04
Get-off and first step
Features an average snap-count reaction and a slow first step, making him predictable to opposing offensive linemen on certain run concepts.
Relative Athletic Score (Kent Lee Platte) benchmarks combine/pro-day numbers against every measured prospect at the position since 1987. 10.00 is elite; 5.00 is average.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 5.09sp50
- Vertical
- 29inp50
- Broad jump
- 109inp50
- Three-cone
- 7.91sp50
- Shuttle
- 4.81sp50
- Bench
- 27repp50
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Florida | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | Florida | 10 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | Florida | 12 | 29 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2020 | Florida | 12 | 38 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | — | 45 | 99 | 3.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Base-down two-gap nose with rotational-starter equity, exactly the archetype Slaton profiled as coming out of Florida.
Above-average NFL nose with functional athleticism at a heavy playing weight — the ceiling if the pass-rush plan grows into occasional interior pressure.
Fringe rotational body who never grew a pass-rush plan and washed out to backup snaps — the downside if conditioning stayed a live flag.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Pre-draft context. Slaton arrived at Florida as a top-100 recruit and rotated across three seasons in the SEC, finishing with 66 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 7.5 TFL — modest counting stats for a first-team All-SEC frame. He measured 6'4", 330 with a genuine 8.39 RAS on massive tackles (5.09 forty, 29-inch vertical, 4.81 shuttle, 27 bench reps). The pre-draft consensus placed him firmly on Day 3: an early-down two-gap nose whose testing hinted at movement upside the tape did not always show. Flags were pass-rush plan, conditioning and inconsistent snap-count play strength against SEC guards.
NFL fit — Green Bay Packers. Green Bay took him at 173 as a developmental nose to backfill behind Kenny Clark in Joe Barry's front. He redshirted much of his rookie year, then earned rotational nose snaps in 2022 and stepped into a genuine base-down starter role by 2023 under a re-tooled defensive staff. By 2024 he was Green Bay's most reliable early-down interior anchor next to Clark, logging career-highs in run stops and playing north of 45 percent of defensive snaps.
Retrospective. A quiet Round-5 hit. Slaton was never asked to be a pass rusher — Green Bay used him exactly as the tape suggested: two-gap nose, base-down clog, spell-guy for Clark. He turned a Day-3 grade into a legitimate NFL role, the kind of interior depth-to-starter arc that justifies the pick.