The Packers went back to the defensive side of the ball with a pair of 5th round draft choices today.
The first, at pick 173 was a big man from a big school. Defensive tackle Tedarrell (T.J.) Slaton from the University of Florida checks in at 6-4 and 340 pounds. In 45 games with the Gators, Slaton totaled 98 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and three and a half sacks primarily clogging up the middle of the line and using surprising athleticism to collapse the pocket.
Slaton can be explosive off the ball and he’s agile enough to rise up and dunk a basketball.
He was suspended for a spell in 2019 for violating a team rule but came back last fall to rack up 37 tackles.
Slaton was the fifth consecutive pick that came from a Power 5 football program but with the second choice in the round, the Packers added a small school cornerback with a big game.
Shemar Jean-Charles was the choice at pick 178. The 5-11, 190 defensive back played at Appalachian State but got plenty of attention at the FCS Sun Belt School. He was named the conference defensive player of the year last season and was a Jim Thorpe semifinalist as the top DB in the country after leading the nation in pass breakups with 16.
Jean-Charles told reporters in Green Bay he’s not lacking for confidence.
Jean-Charles is the second DB taken by the Packers this weekend, joining first round pick Eric Stokes from Georgia.
