Tedarrell Anthony "TJ" Slaton Jr. (born October 3, 1997) is an American professional football defensive tackle for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida, and was selected by the Packers in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL draft.
Slaton was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He attended and played football at American Heritage School in nearby Plantation, where one of his coaches was former National Football League (NFL) cornerback Patrick Surtain. His teammates included Surtain's son, Patrick II, and Tyson Campbell.[1]
Slaton played college football at the University of Florida. In four seasons with the Gators, he played in 45 games with 14 starts, recording 98 tackles (34 solo, 10 for loss), 3.5 sacks, nine quarterback hurries, one pass deflection, and one fumble recovery.[2]
On May 1, 2021, Slaton was selected 173rd overall by the Green Bay Packers in the 2021 NFL draft.[6] He signed his four-year rookie contract on May 14, 2021.[7] He was listed as second on the depth chart to begin the season, behind veteran Kenny Clark.
He saw his first NFL action on September 12, 2021, against the New Orleans Saints, recording two solo tackles in the 38–3 loss. He recorded a half sack in the Packers' Week 3 victory against the San Francisco 49ers, and another half sack two weeks later in a win against the Cincinnati Bengals. In a Week 7 game against the Washington Football Team, he blocked a 42-yard field goal attempt by Chris Blewitt.[8] He saw extensive action in a Week 9 game against the defending American Football Conference champion Kansas City Chiefs, when he played most of the game in relief of an injured Kenny Clark, where he produced 3 "stops", tackles that were determined to be a failure for the opposing offense.