Rashawn Slater Dazzles In Chargers Debut

Los Angeles Chargers first round pick Rashawn Slater was very impressive in his NFL debut.

There was no secret that the Chargers needed to improve their offensive line this past offseason, and by selecting Northwestern's own Rashawn Slater 13th overall in the draft, they were banking on him to be their left tackle of the future. If Slater's Week 1 performance is any indication of the player he can become, all of bolt nation should be smiling from ear to ear.

Tasked with going up against arguably the best defensive line in the NFL, that included last year's defensive rookie of the year, Chase Young, it was about as difficult of an opponent one could have asked for in their NFL debut. Yet, Slater crushed it. From opening kickoff until the clock hit double zeros, Slater shined and played like a ten year vet, helping the Chargers pull of a 20-16 victory on the road against The Washington Football Team.

Hearing that Slater got the best of Young in their matchup shouldn't come as much of a surprise, especially to Wildcat fans who remember their 2019 meeting, between Northwestern and Ohio State. Slater dominated that game (and Young), and this past Sunday was much of the same.

In 49 passing blocks, Slater gave up zero sacks, zero hits, zero pressures and zero hurries allowed. Not bad for a rookie making his first start in the National Football League against the "best defensive line" the league has to offer.

What a debut from @chargers rookie Rashawn Slater vs Washington:

▪️ 49 pass blocking snaps
▪️ 0 sacks allowed
▪️ 0 hits allowed
▪️ 0 pressures allowed
▪️ 0 hurries allowed pic.twitter.com/12NAAOCh34

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) September 13, 2021

This is how PFF graded Slater's performance...

Chargers LT Rashawn Slater was awesome in his debut. Per @PFF, Slater vs. rookie OL:

2nd highest overall grade (73.5)
2nd highest pass block grade (79.9)
2nd most snaps (81)

For 53 of those 81 snaps, he was staring at Chase Young in front of him pre-snap. Zero pressures allowed

— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) September 13, 2021

Slater validated all the praise he received in training camp by coming out of the gates firing in Week 1, and caught the attention of many eyes around the league, most notably eight year offensive line veteran turned analyst Geoff Schwartz:

The Chargers drafted a future All Pro LT in Rashawn Slater. I’m in awe watching him play his first NFL game against the WFT DL. Slater didn’t even play football last season. His technique will only improve. 👏 @rdsl8r! pic.twitter.com/j5yKZyZRfA

— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) September 13, 2021

After the beating that rising quarterback Justin Herbert took last year, it is a positive sign that Slater and the rest of the Chargers' new pieces on their offensive line passed their first test with flying colors together. Yes, it is extremely early, but after a great training camp, and a very strong performance in Week 1, it is easy to envision Slater protecting Herbert's blindside for many more years to come.

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