Green Bay Packers: Flashes from TJ Slaton are Becoming Brighter

As more of a true nose tackle, the skill-set and body type that TJ Slaton brings to this Green Bay Packers defensive front has been an element that has been missing in recent years.

Listed at 6’4” – 330 pounds, Slaton brings a mix of size and athleticism to the interior defensive line. Slaton’s defensive line coach at Florida, David Turner, would call him a “freakish athlete,” as evidenced by his ability to dunk a basketball.

Coming out of college, Slaton was known more for his abilities against the run, but with that athleticism he possesses, there is certainly upside when it comes to him turning into an effective pass-rusher. He would post 19 pressures during his final season at Florida, which isn’t a huge amount by any means, but given his responsibilities, it’s certainly worth noting and helps illustrate the potential that is there.

"“He’s got great size, great length. He’s really tough to dig out inside there. He’s one of those guys that can clog up the middle, eat up space and find the ball,” Gutekunst said shortly following the draft via Sports Illustrated. “If teams want to run it on us, I think specifically as we get later in the season, we have an ability to go in there and get big. And that was why we selected him.”"

An area of emphasis this summer for Slaton was working on having active hands, specifically getting vertical and having them coming from of his hips as he takes on blocks. And during both practice and preseason games, we saw progress as a pass-rusher, along with Slaton still primarily being used on early downs or obvious running situations.

But as the Green Bay Packers often do with their draft picks — especially Day 3 selections — they’ve been bringing Slaton along slowly this season—and understandably so. Prior to Slaton’s final season at Florida, he had never played more than 265 snaps in a single season. While there is a lot to like about his game and what he can offer, he’s still a bit raw as well.

"“I think like a lot of players coming out of college, there can be inconsistencies in their play and that can cause them to fall at times,” said Gutekunst via Sports Illustrated. “And I know that where we had him valued was much higher than that. A 325-pound man that can do what he does, there’s just not many of them out there.”At the same time, there were some parts of his game that needed to be developed. But that’s part of what we do here, as well, and I think he’s done a really nice job in a short period of time here doing what Coach Montgomery wants him to do and learning. Obviously, his production and effort has shown up in these first two (preseason) games.”"

Through the first eight games of the Green Bay Packers season, Slaton was on the field for just 66 total defensive snaps, where he would flash on occasion and log two sacks. He had never played more than 16 snaps in a game, and in six of those games, he never reached double-digit snaps.

When discussing Slaton’s impact, it’s important to remember that as a nose tackle, he isn’t someone who is often going to show up on the stat sheet. Rather his job is to occupy blockers and eat up space, which allows Green Bay to move Kenny Clark around for more one-on-one opportunities and it also helps keep the linebackers clean to make plays.

TJ Slaton’s impact on this Green Bay Packers defense the last two games has grown.

Over these last two games, we’ve really seen those flashes from Slaton become much brighter. Against Kansas City with Dean Lowry on a pitch count and Clark missing the second half, Slaton was on the field for 46 snaps. He would finish the game with the second-most stops on the team–or high-impact tackles per PFF ($$).

Then this past week against Seattle, Slaton saw just 12 snaps but was uber-impactful with three pressures, according to PFF.

Slaton is starting to win his one-on-one matchups with more regularity — especially against Seattle — which either allows him to make a play or it will force the defense to double-team him, which will help create for his teammates.

We even saw Slaton unveil a filthy swim move against Seattle that beat his blocker, and overall, he continues to get good push in the run game—forcing his way into the backfield. Green Bay has even used Clark and Slaton on some stunts.

Especially as of late, the Green Bay Packers’ defense hasn’t just been good, but they’ve been dominant. And while it’s a group effort, it all starts with a good push from the interior defensive line. Although Slaton has been used sparingly up to this point in the season, with his level of play, he is earning more playing time moving forward.

"“Yeah … 6-4, 330, 18% body fat,” said Jerry Montgomery via Packers.com. “He’s a man and he’s got a lot of tools. If we get that going in the right direction and using his hands, that’s going to be a pretty big force in the middle, especially in the run game.”"