Rashawn Slater could be an Eagles "Big" Longshot in first round

The Northwestern product may be best OT in the 2021 NFL Draft, and he can also play all five positions on the front line, including center

PHILADELPHIA - Jeffrey Lurie has already come down from the mount, or at least the top floor of the NovaCare Complex, to deliver instructions to his franchise.

Whether Lurie's decree was cobbled onto a stone tablet is up for debate but the order itself is abundantly clear - build around second-year quarterback Jalen Hurts.

Most have taken that to mean Florida tight end and Philadelphia native Kyle Pitts heading home to the Eagles at No. 6 overall or perhaps one of an impressive receiving trio, LSU's Ja'Marr Chase or DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle, both of Alabama.

There is another way to build around a young QB, however, and that starts with protection.

There are two potential offensive tackles who could be in the mix as top-10 picks, Oregon's Penei Sewell and Northwestern's Rashawn Slater.

Slater had his Pro Day on Tuesday, measuring at 6-foot-4 and 304 pounds with 33-inch arms. He ran a 4.88, benched 225 pounds an impressive 33 times, and recorded a 7.48 3-cone.

Most have Sewell ranked as the top OT in the 2021 draft class but not NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah.

"I actually have Rashawn Slater as the top tackle in the draft," Jeremiah, a former Eagles scout, said Tuesday. "He's just such a clean, clean player on tape. You go back and watch him at Northwestern against Chase Young in 2019 and he more than held his own. His ability to recover and rework his hands in that game was really good. He can bend. He's one of the better guys."

Young, the Washington Football Team star, was the No. 2 overall pick in 2020 and was the Associated Press' Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Slater sat out the 2021 COVID-19 afflicted college season but his tape from the previous season stands out even when measured against the four players who went among the top 13 last April: the Giants' Andrew Thomas, Cleveland's Jedrick Wills, the Jets' Mekhi Beckton, and Tampa Bay's Tristan Wirfs.

"And even comparing him to the group last year, if you look at just the ability to climb up to the second level in the run game and what he can do with his athleticism, I'd say he does that better than even the tackles in last year's draft," Jeremiah said.

Jeremiah is also impressed by Slater's projected versatility, something that bakes in a Zack Martin-like safeness to Slater's game.

"I think he's got five-position flexibility," said Jeremiah. "Some teams even like him as a center. Penei Sewell I think you're going to park him at tackle."

Could one of those teams that like him at center be the Eagles, who need to plan for Jason Kelce's sooner-rather-than-later retirement?

For what it's worth, Slater wants to stay at OT but is open to playing wherever a team may need him.

“I think I’m the best tackle in the draft so I have a really high level of confidence about that," Slater said. "But I’m a team player. If someone wants to play me at guard, I’m all for it as long as it’s best for the team.”

Most of the speculation surrounding Slater to this point put his ceiling at the top 10 and maybe his floor at No. 14 to Minnesota.

Right in the middle of that is San Francisco at No. 12 which will likely have to replace its starting left tackle for the second straight year after losing Joe Staley to retirement and perhaps All-World Trent Williams to free agency and a potential monster deal this time around.

A number of Niners' reporters joined Slater's virtual media availability on Tuesday to do their own due diligence.

“I’d love to be in that kind of scheme,” Slater said of the 49ers questions. “It seems like an awesome organization the way they run things. That’s a positive, for sure.”

The Eagles could render all of that moot, and while Jeremiah strongly believes that Pitts should be on his way back to Philadelphia if he falls to No. 6, the former personnel man dropped another interesting hint: "I can't see [the Eagles] leaving the first two rounds without a big."

John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John every Monday and Thursday on The Middle with Eytan Shander, Harry Mayes, former Eagles OT Barrett Brooks streaming live on both PhillyVpice.com and SportsMap Radio. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s EagleMaven. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.