Below are 10 quick-hitting insights on the Chargers' first-round pick Rashawn Slater:
1) Slater is the first offensive lineman selected by the Chargers in the first round since D.J. Fluker in 2013. Only three O-linemen have been selected by the team in the first round since 1986.
2) At Northwestern, Slater made 37 career starts before opting out of the 2020 season. He trained with offensive line expert Duke Manyweather over the last eight months to prepare for the NFL.
3) Before the draft, Slater was featured on FOX Sports' "Big Boys Club O-Line Draft Academy" with Manyweather and former NFL offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz.
4) Slater will be reunited with a pair of Wildcats in Los Angeles: defensive end Joe Gaziano and running back Justin Jackson. Slater blocked for Jackson as a true freshman in 2017 when he set the all-time school rushing record (5,440 yards) en route to his fourth straight 1,000-yard season.
5) For the first time in school history, Northwestern had two players selected in the first round of an NFL Draft: Slater and cornerback Greg Newsome II (No. 26 overall, CLE).
6) According to Northwestern Athletics, Slater was a track-and-field athlete at Clements High School in Houston, Texas, competing in the shot put and discus. He was also a three-time Academic All-District.
7) From Chargers Communications: The 2016 Houston Chronicle All-Greater Houston, Second-Team included the following players: wide receiver Jaylen Waddle (selected No. 6 overall, MIA); Slater (selected No. 13 overall); and linebacker Kenneth Murray Jr., the team's first-round pick in 2020 (No. 23 overall) after quarterback Justin Herbert.
8) NFL Network draft analyst and Chargers radio analyst Daniel Jeremiah had Slater graded as his No. 1 offensive tackle in the 2021 NFL Draft. Here's what he said about Slater last month:
"You go back and watch him at Northwestern against Chase Young in 2019 and he more than held his own. His ability to recover and rework his hands in that game was really good. He can bend. He's one of the better guys. And even comparing him to the group last year, if you look at just the ability to climb up to the second level in the run game and what he can do with his athleticism, I'd say he does that better than even the tackles in last year's draft. But he would be my top one this year."
Slater is set to see Young this upcoming season when the Chargers travel east to face the Washington Football Team.
9) Slater's father, Reggie, played eight seasons in the NBA. At Wyoming, he was the 1991-92 WAC Player of the Year.
10) Off the field, Slater is as well-rounded as he is on it. He has a bearded dragon named Eliza; he can also make a pizza from scratch.
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