Exclusive: Jackson Slater named Eagles legend as his inspiration heading into 2025 NFL draft 

Sacramento State guard Jackson Slater is ready for the next level. After playing all four college football seasons at Sacramento State, the senior has declared for the 2025 NFL draft.

As a prospect, Slater, like most college football players, has certain NFL players he watches tape on and tries to motto his game after.

Slater, listed as a 6-foot-4, 316-pound guard on Sacramento State's official website, said he tries to mimic and watch tape on interior linemen with a similar build. Former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce and Denver Broncos guard Quinn Meinerz are two guys he heavily watches tape and studies.

Slater said Wednesday in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda:

"Yeah, I mean, there's definitely a few guys I definitely gravitate more towards, like the, 6'3 interior guys that might have similar playing styles to me. So, you know, Quinn Meinerz, Jason Kelce are a couple names that come to mind."

Kelce and Meinerz are certainly two good offensive linemen to use as a motto for your game on/watch tape.

Kelce retired from the NFL before the 2024-25 season and was a seven-time Pro Bowler, six-time First-Team All-Pro and a Super Bowl-winning center. He was most recently listed at 6-foot-3, 295 pounds.

Meinerz will be entering his fifth season in the NFL this upcoming season, and he is coming off his best season as a pro, earning a First-Team All-Pro selection for this past season. Meinerz is listed as 6-foot-3, 320 pounds.

Jackson Slater said he watches more film on Mason McCormick than any other offensive lineman

Mason McCormick during Pittsburgh Steelers v Baltimore Ravens - Source: Getty

In the same interview, Jackson Slater mentioned Pittsburgh Steelers guard Mason McCormick as another guard he looks up to and studies his tape, looking for ways to translate some of his moves/techniques to his game.

Slater said:

"I'd say the guy that I've watched the most film on [is] probably was Mason McCormick. Going into my senior season, we've, played a lot of teams that have also played South Dakota State. So we had a ton of film on them. I watched all the games we had of South Dakota State, watching him and see if there's anything really special, or anything I could maybe translate to my game. Because obviously, he had a successful draft process, and had a good year with the Steelers. So that's a guy I look up to, and a guy I try to play like."

McCormick was drafted 119th overall in the 2024 NFL draft and made his first NFL start with the Steelers in Week 4 last season.

Many mock draft analysts and online articles have Slater as a projected day-three draft pick or a top-priority free agent signing. The NFL draft takes place on April 24-26. Will Jackson Slater hear his name called over the three days?