With pick No. 60 in the 2025 POD Community Mock Draft, the Detroit Lions select…
Our 2025 Pride of Detroit Community Mock is nearing its conclusion and the Detroit Lions are back on the clock with the No. 60 overall pick.
If you missed it earlier, the Lions landed Boston College edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku with pick No. 28 in this mock draft series. You can see how the rest of the picks leading up to this moment, including the fan-voted grades, have played out in our Community Mock Draft Tracker .
As we do every year in this exercise, we picked a handful of players that Lions fans may want the team to select and published a poll for the community to vote on . The results of this poll are still ongoing, but at the time of this publication, the majority of votes resided with Georgia guard Tate Ratledge. He received 38 percent of the vote, with Ohio State EDGE Jack Sawyer coming in second with 20 percent.
As is tradition, I made my selection before the voting began, and with pick No. 60 in the 2024 NFL Draft , the Detroit Lions select…
Tate Ratledge, RG, Georgia
A highly sought after high school recruit (Alabama, and Clemson fought to the wire for him) Ratledge earned a starting right guard role as a redshirt freshman but injured his foot and was done for the season. Over the next three years, Ratledge would go on to start another 37 games at right guard and earned a reputation as an old-school lineman willing to grind it out in the trenches.
2024 statistics
- Games started: 10 (38 career at right guard) — missed four games due to an ankle injury
- PFF Run blocking grade in 2024: 74.7
- PFF Pass blocking grade in 2024: 77.3
- Pressures allowed in 2024: 7
- GRIT score: 86.3 (Tier 1)
“Ratledge—who describes himself as a “dirtbag” on the field—would be a fun player to pair with Christian Mahogany, who Lions general manager Brad Holmes called a dirtbag in his opening press conference.”
Measurables
- RAS: 9.96
- 6-foot-6 1⁄2, 308 pounds
- 4.97-second 40-yard-dash (guard average: 5.32)
- 1.72-second 10-yard-split (ave. 1.82)
- 32-inch vertical jump (ave. 27.5)
- 9-foot-5 broad jump (ave. 8-foot-4)
- 7.38-second 3-cone (ave. 7.84)
ESPN’s Matt Bowen had this to say about the Georgia right guard’s demeanor :
“Ratledge plays angry up front, with a tenacious demeanor displayed on the tape. He’s a culture-setter who could add an old-school feel to an offensive line room.”
Draft analyst rankings
- Dane Brugler (The Athletic ): 53
- Brandon Thorn (Bleacher Report ): 7.6 grade (Potential Impact Player — 2nd Round)
- Lance Zierlein (NFL.com ): 6.28 (equivalent to a second round)
- Trevor Sikkema (PFF ): 69
- Daniel Jeremiah (NFL.com ): Not in Top 50
- Jordan Reid (ESPN ): 79
- Todd McShay (McShay Report, via Ringer ): 79
From Thorn’s profile of Ratledge at Bleacher Report :
“Overall, Ratledge’s build, play strength, processing skills and demeanor are NFL-starter caliber at guard and should get him in a lineup within his rookie year.”
Strengths and weaknesses
A consistent dominator in the run game, Ratledge has the power to latch onto and control defenders, driving them out of the play. As a pass protector, he has the instincts to spot defensive line games (like stunts and blitzes), the athleticism to adjust on the fly, and the anchor to halt a pass rush on the move. His punch timing can be off at times, which forces him to lean on a defender instead of maintaining distance and control.
Intangibles
Ratledge has a starter’s mentality and enters competition with a winning mindset. He practices with intensity, loves every moment he gets to play the game, and has a very approachable and fun loving demeanor. On the field, he plays with a mean streak, is a self-described “dirtbag” (per The Beast), and leads with tenacity.
Fit with the Lions
Ratledge’s heavy experience in Georgia’s pro scheme, running both gap and zone concepts, have turned him into a plug-and-play right guard in the Lions’ system. Ratledge would enter Allen Park as rookie expected to compete with Graham Glasgow and Christian Mahogany for Detroit’s two starting guard roles.
Time to grade the pick.