The fourth installment of the Houston Texans Draft Profile series delves into the biggest surprise of this class so far. Jake Slaughter, a team captain and three-year starter, emerged as the top prospect in a deep center class featuring Connor Lew (Auburn), Sam Hecht (Kansas State), and Logan Jones (Iowa).
Slaughter has slowly gained momentum throughout the draft process even though he’s a well-known commodity in draft circles.
Size: 6’5, 303 poundsPosition: CenterYear/Age: Senior, 23 years oldMeasurements: 32 3/8” arms (42%), 10” hands (61%)Expected draft range: late-second to mid-fourth round
Games watched: Texas, Miami, Georgia (2024, 2025), Tennessee, (2024), Long Island (2025), Texas A&M (2024)
With Slaughter, it’s pretty clear: either he stays low after the snap and wins the rep, or he rises up after snapping the ball and gets thrown out of the club because he was too high.
When Slaughter used his longer frame properly, he got underneath the pads of the defends and used his leverage to stymie their rush. However, when he exposed his chest, defenders lifted him up and backwards with ease.
Pass protection is where he shines. He keeps his feet wide, underneath him, but slightly behind his frame while not leaning too forward. I never saw a DT pull and rip past him, which is surprising given the technique. He counters well with his hands and knows how to give up ground without losing control. Being a center is about losing slowly.
Much of this can be attributed to being a patient blocker. Normally a good thing, but it’s certainly possible to be too patient in pass protection. Slaughter tended to not dictate the rep. Instead, he waited too long to contact the defensive tackle who would build up momentum, which gets them under his pads and through his block.
This was most evident against Georgia’s Christen Miller in 2025. Slaughter had an elite game against the top-flight defensive tackle. However, when Miller beat him to the punch off of the snap, Slaughter turned into a rag doll. Would not be opposed to having both players in Texans uniforms next season.
In the run game, he prioritized sealing off the defender before pushing them out of the gap. He lacked the raw strength to upend DTs but had elite positioning in both zone and gap schemes. Florida’s run scheme matched NFL team’s blocking ratio of 2/3 zone, 1/3 power. Slaughter presented as a better power scheme blocker than zone blocker due to his pad level and quickness.
He has the hip flexibility and stance to get low, which is ideal, but it is a matter of of his eyes and feeling confident and where he’s going with his block.
When taking a look back at his 2024 tape to see the progression, there were multiple instances of being overpowered in 2024 by a legit Tennessee front, but that did not appear on the tape in 2025. He struggled a bit when smaller DTs shot the gap out of the three technique. It was an angle that caused problems for him, forced him to cross his feet, and run the defender out of the play to compensate for being late.
Nick Caserio has addressed every other offensive line position other than center. That leaves incumbent Jake Andrews to meet the grim reaper, also known as Jake Slaughter. Even though he’s an older prospect, Slaughter could use a year on the back burner before taking over for Andrews in year two.
The true answer lies in what type of run game offensive coordinator Nick Caley employs in 2026. Based on the additions thus far, he wants to be a power scheme utilizing gap and duo blocks rather than a sideline-to-sideline zone scheme. Slaughter fits the bill better than Hecht and Jones, who played in wide zone rushing offenses that were predicated on positioning and leverage than power.
At this juncture, Slaughter is the top offensive center on the board for the Houston Texans. While a Sam Hecht draft analysis will be coming early next week, Slaughter better fits the scheme, style, and technique that Nick Caserio is acquiring for the 2026 season.
Comment below if there’s a prospect you want featured! Doesn’t have to be a lineman either.