When the Los Angeles Chargers selected Jake Slaughter in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft, the logic behind the pick made sense.
Although Tyler Biadasz was cemented as the Chargers' starting center, Slaughter could function as a backup while competing for the starting left guard job. Even if he didn't ultimately beat out Kayode Awosika and Trevor Penning (or Branson Taylor, apparently), his positional versatility would provide Los Angeles with a level of depth they simply didn't have last year.
But now that Biadasz seems slated to miss most, if not all, of the season, Slaughter has suddenly been thrust in a starting role. Each of his reps in practice and in the preseason now take on a different complexion. The Chargers are no longer simply hoping that Slaughter can be an immediately impactful presence along the offensive line.
They need him to be one— and they need him to show those flashes now.
Slaughter didn't get much run in the Chargers' preseason matchup against the San Francisco 49ers. But in this final week of camp, he'll need to continue to build on any momentum he's garnered to this point.
While he's improved rapidly over the past two weeks, he needs to fully acquit himself before the Chargers enter the new campaign.
Jake Slaughter still has a lot to prove as Chargers enter final week of training camp
At the start of training camp, it seemed as though Slaughter's path to a starting spot was relatively slim. Awosika, Taylor, and even Trey Pipkins III were taking first-team reps at left guard over him, and Slaughter was primarily functioning as the second-team center.
But on the second weekend of camp, something clicked. Jim Harbaugh commended the improvement he had seen from the rookie to that point, and he was suddenly rotating in at left guard in practice. In the Chargers' first preseason matchup against the Houston Texans, he played 36 snaps at the position, flashing some athleticism and power in the run game and a general solidness in pass protection.
One solid preseason game at left guard is a long way off from consistent reps at starting center, though.
Granted, if there's any rookie from this class that a team should feel comfortable starting Week 1 at center, it's likely Slaughter. He was among the best at the position in college last season, allowing just four pressures and one sack across 422 pass-blocking snaps per Pro Football Focus.
But it's still hard to blame Chargers fans if they're pessimistic in any way about the outlook for the offensive line.
Slaughter, therefore, needs to do more than simply hold down the position in the final week of camp. Even if he sees limited run in the Chargers' final preseason game, he needs to alleviate any concerns—especially in regards to his anchor in pass protection—through consistent performance in team drills. He needs to continually flash the athleticism and the power that made him a favorite prospect of Joe Hortiz, and he needs to quickly build a rapport with Justin Herbert in the course of the offense.
Here's the problem— the Chargers now have only three camp practices left before their final preseason matchup against the Los Angeles Rams.
Biadasz is likely a top 10-12 center in the NFL. If Slaughter is going to adequately replace him, he's going to need to start showing more comfort at the position, and he's going to need to do it very quickly.
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