Jake Slaughter rode that Mel Kiper endorsement right into the second round.
Slaughter, who was the top center on many boards and a player that Mel Kiper said was one of his favorites in the draft, was swooped up by the Chargers at the No. 63 pick. He became just the third Florida Gators offensive lineman selected in the decade, joining Stone Forsythe (2021, sixth round pick for the Seattle Seahawks) and O'Cyrus Torrence (2023, second round pick for the Buffalo Bills). It's a surprisingly low number that Jon Sumrall and new offensive line coach Phil Trautwein are trying to change.
(UPDATE: Another Gators offensive lineman, Austin Barber, was selected 86th overall by the Cleveland Browns)
got the guy they wanted all along pic.twitter.com/3PjJS9KRlc
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) April 25, 2026
Kiper said that Slaughter had more of a fourth-round grade, but also predicted he would likely be the first center taken. Chargers GM Joe Horitz said that there were a lot of teams looking to grab Slaughter before the end of the second day.
The Chargers will give Jake Slaughter a look at guard
Horitz added that he talked to several players at Florida, and they all talked about Slaughter's leadership qualities.
"He was a player that unanimously scouts, coaches...everyone had pretty much the same grade, which was a high-end grade," Horitz said. "He's smart, tough, athletic, intelligent, three-year starter, durable... We've had long discussions [about] if he could play guard in our scheme and the answer is, absolutely."
big fella can MOVE pic.twitter.com/SyqKbbDC7M
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) April 25, 2026
Despite never playing a snap at guard in college, Horitz and Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh are planning on Slaughter competing to be the team's starter at left guard. Harbaught described Slaughter as a "home-run pick" and added that the Chargers had him much higher than where he was picked.
"He is such a versatile player," Harbaugh said. "Jake's been our top center through the entire process there. Top of our board...with the ability to play guard. At least he'll get a real good, fighting chance to compete for the starting position and, at worst, if he's not starting at guard, he'll be the next man in at all three positions."
Even though Slaughter will be working at a new position, the Chargers realize that many of the qualities he has as a football player can't be taught. If Slaughter attacks this challenge like he has with everything else in his life, there's no question he'll be successful.
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