Rashawn Slater ranked as NFL’s 12th-best offensive tackle

Rashawn Slater is poised for a bounce-back season under new Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh.

Rashawn Slater burst onto the NFL scene as a rookie in 2021 with a dominant season protecting the blindside of Justin Herbert. He earned a Second-Team All-Pro nod, falling only behind the 49ers’ Trent Williams as the top left tackle in the NFL that year.

After losing the majority of his sophomore season due to a torn biceps, Slater returned in 2023 to compete alongside 2022 first-rounder Zion Johnson. The two did not sinergize as well as the team would have liked, but Johnson did just switch from the right side and he no longer had All-Pro center Corey Linsley to lean on.

Understandably, it wasn’t the best season for Slater as the entire line seemed to underwhelm and fall short of expectations. The run game was non-existent and the protection didn’t hold up well enough to keep Justin Herbert from suffering a season-ending injury late in the year.

After being ranked eighth among all offensive tackles in 2023, Slater saw his ranking take a hit down to 12th in this year’s rankings by CBS Sports.

Here’s what author Jeff Kerr had to say about Slater and his placement on the list:

“Slater did have a down season in 2024 compared to a dominant first two years in the league, yet remains one of the best young tackles in the game. He allowed three sacks and 35 pressures in 720 pass-blocking snaps last season (pressure rate allowed per dropback of 4.9%), yet remained healthy and played all 17 games last season.”

“An elite pass blocker, Slater will have to be better against the run in Jim Harbaugh’s offense.”

Per Pro Football Focus, Slater had a career-low overall season grade of 76.6. That’s down from 84.0 in 2022 and 83.6 in 2021. The biggest area that took a hit from 2022 to 2023 was Slater’s run blocking. He set his career high at 88.0 but saw that number absolutely plummet to 59.5 this past season. At the same time, his 2023 pass blocking grade of 84.7 was a new career high which bested his previous mark of 80.3 he earned in his all-pro season.

For those who are curious but don’t want to click on the link, all 11 tackles listed above Slater (descending order) are: Trent Williams (49ers), Penei Sewell (Lions), Tyron Smith (Jets), Lane Johnson (Eagles), Tristan Wirfs (Bucs), Jordan Mailata (Eagles), Terron Armstead (Dolphins), Andrew Thomas (Giants), Christian Darrisaw (Vikings), Braden Smith (Colts), and Laremy Tunsil (Texans).

Something tells me that Slater is poised for a massive rebounding in 2024 under Jim Harbaugh. If anything at all, he’s going to get all the opportunity in the world to raise his run blocking grade this year as the Chargers are expected to run the ever-loving hell out of the football. Will Slater and the rest of the offensive line be up for the challenge? I sure hope so.