The Bengals have agreed to terms with DT TJ Slaton on a 2 year/$15M deal, carrying an AAV of $7.5M.
Slaton is coming over from the Packers, the team that drafted him in 2021. In Green Bay, he appeared in 68 games, while starting 36 of them. In his career thus far, he has totaled 134 total tackles, 2 sacks, and 6 tackles for a loss.
At 6’4″, 330 lbs, Slaton is a run stuffing NT. This is something the Bengals have desperately needed since the departure of DJ Reader. McKinnley Jackson was drafted last year, and has shown promise. However, the Bengals still, at the very least, needed to raise the floor at the position.
I typically prefer to go by the tape, rather than outside grading systems, but I haven’t watched him play a whole lot since he entered the NFL. Different systems paint a different picture of the kind of player Slaton is. ESPN had him with the top run stop win rate in the league this past season, at 46%. However, PFF gave him 45.0 grade for his run defence, a 57.6 pass rush grade, and an overall grade of 45.3. Very different pictures being painted there. In fairness, PFF had him graded better in the previous two seasons, with overall grades of 62.3 and 61.7. For reference, PFF considers 60 to be average.
Given how the Bengals typically structure these types of deals, it is likely one they’ll be able to move on from after this season, if it doesn’t work out. But for the sake of the defence in 2024, the Bengals will be hoping that they hit on this one.
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