AUBURN | Auburn had a record-tying six players selected in the 2020 NFL Draft, which left a host of talented and experienced players to take a different path to the NFL.
Eight former Tigers inked free agent deals shortly after the end of the draft Saturday night, and they can look for inspiration from former Auburn offensive lineman Chad Slade, who has carved out a solid NFL career after signing a free agent deal with the Houston Texans following the 2015 draft.
“I think we’ve got a big group, not just of guys getting drafted, but I think there’s going to be some guys that could be picked up free agent that could play a long time,” said Auburn coach Gus Malzahn before Friday’s second and third rounds.
“We had Chad Slade, was one of our guys that we had a chance to Zoom with our draft-eligible guys. Of course, he’s been in the league six years. He had some great insight.”
Malzahn had Slade, Kerryon Johnson, a second round pick in 2018, and Dontavius Russell, a seventh round pick in 2019, speak with the Tigers’ draft eligible players last week to give them some pointers if they were taken early or late in the draft, or had to go the free agent route.
Slade, who started 49 career games at Auburn, spent the entire 2015 season, his first in the NFL, on the injured reserve. In 2016, he was on the practice squad. He did the same in 2017 before playing in the final five games including three starts before going back to the practice squad the following year. Practice squad responsibilities included going up against All-Pro defensive lineman J.J. Watt on a regular basis.
Slade was released by the Texans and signed with the N.Y. Giants where he was on the roster as a backup guard last season.
That may not seem like much of a football career to an outsider, but practice squad players can make $130,000 over a season and the NFL minimum for an active roster player is $495,000. Not bad for a sociology major straight out of college.
“It was pretty interesting to hear Chad,” Malzahn said. “You know, he thought it may have even been an advantage for him to go free agent other than be drafted late, you know, sixth or seventh round, because he said he got a chance to really look at the needs of certain teams. And he felt like he went to the team that had the biggest need for his position and gave him the best chance of making the team. So that was pretty enlightening as far as that went.”
Auburn has several other former free agents in the NFL including New England Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones and linebacker Brandon King, Pittsburgh Steelers safety Tray Matthews, Washington Redskins running back Peyton Barber, Atlanta Falcons long snapper Josh Harris, Buffalo Bills wide receiver Duke Williams and Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Devaroe Lawrence.
The eight former Tigers that signed Saturday include cornerback Javaris Davis with the Kansas City Chiefs, defensive lineman Nick Coe and wide receiver Will Hastings with the New England Patriots, safety Jeremiah Dinson and punter Arryn Siposs with the Detroit Lions, offensive lineman Marquel Harrell with the Buffalo Bills, offensive lineman Mike Horton with the Carolina Panthers and H-back Spencer Nigh with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
