Chris

Slayton

Slayton (6'4"/307) had a productive tenure in Central New York, logging 104 tackles, 7.5 sacks and four forced fumbles over 43 career games for the Orange. He served as the team’s defensive captain while being recognized as an All-ACC Honorable Mention in 2018. The 22-year-old also competed in the East/West Shrine Game this past January. Slayton flashed impressive strength and power at Syracuse, though his middling athleticism and lack of consistency prevented him from going higher in the draft.

Hat tip to Draft Analyst’s Tony Pauline on this one. Slayton (6'4/307) posted a composite SPARQ score landing him in just the 12th percentile of NFL defensive linemen while at the combine. While he opted to stand by most of his testing scores, Pauline passes along that he did redo his agility drills, running the three-cone drill in 7.34 seconds (the analyst termed that run “fantastic”) and the 20-yard shuttle in 4.71 seconds. Draft Analyst currently stamps Slayton with a fifth-round grade for April.

Slayton (6'4/307) didn’t test off the charts in any drill and that was expected. While his draft stock shouldn’t change one bit from today’s performance, it does confirm that he’s a quality prospect that will likely come off the board somewhere near the Day 2/3 turn. During the 2018 season, Slayton had a modest eight tackles for loss and 16 solo tackles.

Impressive might be an understatement, as Campbell writes that he thinks Slayton (6'4/309) could be the best player hes seen so far. He was known for his versatility at Syracuse -- as Campbell notes -- and his “speed, leverage and strength to consistently get the better of the offensive linemen,” has been on display at St. Petersburg. There’s a real chance that the former Orange defender will be a Day 2 selection.

Slayton (6'4/309) was one of the top defenders on the Orange this year, and a big reason why they were able to win nine games in 2018. He gets the “under-the-radar” tag from analysts, and gets quality reviews for his ability to control the line of scrimmage as both a run defender as a pass rusher. It wouldn’t be a big shock if Slayton was one of the highest drafted players that participated in this year’s game.

Marino believes Slayton should be looked at a little closer as a prospect and explains “He’s been a steady contributor for the Orange across the last 3 seasons and showcases good power at the POA. After a standout performance against Louisville he’s up to 3.5 sacks and 7 TFLs in the season and 7.5 sacks/29.5 TFLs for his career.” Draft Analyst’s Tony Pauline originally gave him a 6th-round grade but believes he has flashed top-100 potential at times this season. Slayton’s has a chance to make a big splash in the national spotlight next week against Notre Dame.

As Pauline writes, Slayton didn’t have a huge statistical impact in the game, but anyone who watched the 6-foot-4, 309-pound interior lineman make a big difference in the “upset” victory. “Slayton’s ability to explode off the snap disrupted the FSU game plan all day,” he writes. “He’s an explosive lineman with excellent size and movement skills.” Pauline gave Slayton a sixth-round grade coming into the year, but he looked the part of a top 100 selection against the Seminoles on Saturday.

Slayton is one of two players he gives draftable grades to coming to the season, with the other being junior defensive tackle McKinley Williams. Pauline notes that Slayton (6'4/309) flashes “athleticism and power,” and he can be “incredibly explosive.” He also notes the can hold his own against double teams thanks to that strength and leverage. " Slayton has the style, size and growth potential to develop into a nose tackle or zero-technique lineman,” Pauline summarizes.