Seahawks show interest in small school center

Is Jackson Slater a Seahawks draft target?

If the Seahawks invest more resources into the guard and center positions this offseason, then Sacramento State’s Jackson Slater could be one of Seattle’s targets somewhere in the middle of the draft.

Let’s find out who Jackson Slater is together.

You can watch Slater’s 1-on-1 reps at the Senior Bowl here.

Measurables

Height: 6’4

Weight: 316

Arm Length: 33”

Though Slater has played all three positions and primarily was a guard in college, the word is that he’ll be a center in the NFL:

He definitely has the size to play guard, and maybe tackle in a pinch, but Slater would definitely be an above-average sized center and I’ve heard this a lot about him: “He will start for some team for the next decade”.

Projection: All over the place

Though I’ve seen projections of Slater in the later rounds, those are almost certainly outdated given the fact that he was a) invited to the Senior Bowl despite playing at Sac State and b) one of the “winners” of the week. This chart at NFL Mock Draft Database shows an uptick in January:

That is most likely due to the fact that people writing mock drafts up until now were going off of big school reputations and often not going beyond the first round. As the Dane Brugler types get more comfortable with day two mock drafts, I would expect Slater to get regular mention and then it will trickle down to everybody else.

The Draft Network notes that Slater was a first-team AP All-American for three years in a row and is “one of the most decorated FCS linemen to come out in recent years”. In an interview with Slater at the Senior Bowl, he says he’s been modeling his game after Mason McCormick because he was a fourth round pick out of FCS South Dakota State in 2024:

I always try to follow the FCS players that were able to make it to the NFL, guys who have done well.

McCormick came out last year. We had some South Dakota State film at Sacramento State. I tried to watch as much of his game as I could. He’s obviously done well for himself. He’s a good guy for me to model my game after.

I watched a ton of Mason McCormick, and I think a lot of his game shows up in mine. We’re both good protectors and mean in the pulling game. There’s plenty of clips out there of him taking cornerbacks out, different plays where he’s out in space.

Drafted by the Steelers, McCormick made 14 starts as a rookie, which is certainly more than first rounder Troy Fautanu (who went on IR) and put him right alongside second round rookie teammate Zach Frazier.

If the Seahawks could get a rookie season out of anybody like Pittsburgh got from McCormick, that would be a win that John Schneider rarely gets.

The Seahawks pick 50th and 82nd on day two. Given the attention that he got at the Senior Bowl and the dearth of quality centers and guards in the league, maybe the third round could end up being too late. TDN, which also wrote “has the makings of a decade-long starter”, called Slater a clinician in the run game with great power and fundamentals and projected him for day 2.

Maybe Seattle, if they really do like Slater that much, could get him with their third pick. In my estimation though, the Seahawks should only do that if they’ve already selected another offensive lineman with one of their first two picks; if Schneider just waits until the third round again and has no insurance policy, we saw how that went with Christian Haynes.

Senior Bowl notes

Friend of the newsletter Sam Teets highlighted Slater as a winner on day 2 of practices:

Slater opened his Senior Bowl experience with strong Day 1 before building on it was another impressive showing on Wednesday. Slater’s anchor, strike timing and placement, and refitting hands have helped him post wins against elite prospects like Walter Nolen. His footspeed has also stood out to help him stay attached to and mirror rushers.

Slater beat Nolen twice yesterday in the 1-on-1s, including once at right guard and once at center. I think Slater’s base narrows too much at times, and he’s occasionally been caught with his hands low and wide. However, he’s showcased the full body power and stout anchor to take a hit, recover, and reset.

Nolen has been called one of the best, if not the best, all-around players at the Senior Bowl.

Trench Warfare’s Brandon Thorn is a fan and has called Slater the best lineman at the Senior Bowl:

Brugler’s been on Slater (and Grey Zabel, who I highlighted a couple days ago) since last season so he’s not that much of a surprise really:

For some audio/visual, here’s a local interview with Slater:

What Seahawks fans want

If the Seahawks left the 2025 draft with someone like Missouri’s T/G Armand Membou in the first and Jackson Slater in the third, I can’t imagine a single fan going lower than an A+ for Schneider’s second class without Pete Carroll. It’s also entirely against Seattle’s usual M.O., but given the state of the offensive line and the team as a whole recently, is that such a bad thing?

Seaside Joe 2161