Buffalo Bills 2021 NFL Draft Prospect to Know: DT Tedarrell Slaton

If the Buffalo Bills wait until Day 3 to address the defensive tackle position, a player like Tedarrell Slaton out of the University of Florida could be a good fit. He is a player who may not be able to contribute right away but does have the talent to eventually become a starter and replace Star Lotulelei. Let’s take a closer look at his profile and how he might with the Buffalo Bills.

Measurables/Stats

Height: 6’4″

Weight: 330 pounds

Arms: 32.265″

Hands: 9.125″

Tedarrell Slaton played in 38 games over four seasons for the Florida Gators and had 99 total tackles, 10 tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks and one interception. In terms of stats, he showed steady improvement by increasing his tackle total every season and his tackles for a loss went from 1.5 in each of his first two seasons to 3.5 in his final two years at Florida.

NFL.com Scouting Report by Lance Zierlein

"Massive man with evenly distributed body weight that will have him pegged as a nose in either even or odd fronts. While the traits say run-plugger, the tape does not. He doesn’t control the point of attack with power and frequently gave ground to double teams and angle blocks. He has the power to handle single blocks and might be able to strengthen the anchor if his bend and leverage can be improved. He’s a try-hard rusher whose athleticism creates more pressure than expected. He has late-round value and might become a developmental prospect on a practice squad."

Highlights

How he fits with the Buffalo Bills

If the Buffalo Bills were to select Tedarrell Slaton, he would play one-tech in Sean McDermott’s defense. He would be expected to take up space, hold his ground and clog running lanes. He certainly has the physical size to do this at 330 pounds but as Zierlein notes in his scouting report he hasn’t had much success here.

This is something the Buffalo Bills would need to be confident he can improve because Slaton would eventually be paired with Ed Oliver. While Oliver did replace Lotulelei last year as the one-tech, this is not where his strength lies and he needs to be free to make plays behind the line of scrimmage and getting after the quarterback.

However, since the Buffalo Bills would likely be using one of their last picks in this year’s draft on Tedarrell Slaton it might be worth the gamble as a development type player and hope he can eventually be the starting defensive tackle.