Tate Ratledge has already made some strides at the center position, as the Detroit Lions continue to try him out at a new position.
For the first time since training camp opened, Detroit Lions second-round pick Tate Ratledge talked with the media on Thursday. He’s been one of the most intriguing players on the team, as the rookie may have the tough task of filling the shoes of four-time Pro Bowler Frank Ragnow at center this year.
The biggest hurdle? It’s a relatively new position. The extent of his experience at center is taking reps during spring practices at Georgia last year, while the team was injured at the position. He didn’t log a single game snap at the position in college.
Yet since the spring here in Detroit, the Lions have toyed with the idea of him starting his NFL career at center. He split time there during OTAs, and he played nearly every snap with the first-team offense at center through the first three training camp practices. And Ratledge can already sense a significant difference from May to July.
“A lot better than I was (doing) in the spring. It’s becoming more natural to me,” Ratledge said. “The playbook, getting used to it. So, it’s definitely a lot easier now than it was in the spring.”
That’s not something he’s imagining. The coaching staff is seeing it, too.
“It’s only two days, (but) I like where it’s been versus the spring,” coach Dan Campbell said. “It already feels better, it already feels more natural.”
Campbell also added that Ratledge is drinking from the firehose, as the Lions are throwing a ton at the 24-year-old offensive lineman. He has to learn new techniques, adjust to starting his blocking assignment with one hand down, learn an entire new playbook, and start diagnosing pressure packages from the defense. While it’s all an adjustment for Ratledge, the rookie admitted two things are the biggest challenges right now: how quickly the game comes to you at the center position, and the mental responsibilities.
“At guard, you got a little bit of a delay being off the ball, and then of course you get up here and you’re going against quicker guys than I’ve seen before. So, I think that was the biggest adjustment, just how fast everything happens,” Ratledge said, later adding. “The mental side of it’s definitely the hardest part. Getting everybody on the same page.”
But Ratledge isn’t doing it alone. For one, he’s got the help of a nine-year veteran in Graham Glasgow, who has plenty of experience going from guard to center and back again.
“Graham’s been a tremendous help, whether that be in the meeting room, on the field,” Ratledge said. “I know he’s one of those guys I can come up and ask anything, and he’ll probably have an answer for me. He’s been great helping me with certain looks, certain techniques. So, it’s been great having him to lean on.”
He’s also getting help from the other side of the ball. Nose tackle DJ Reader has been in the league since 2016, and he offers a unique perspective on how he beats opposing centers.
“There’s a few reps he’s gotten me on, and I’ll go up and ask him what he saw, what I’m doing to make that easier, where my hands need to be, stuff like that,” Ratledge said. “And he’s done a great job helping me with that as well.”
The Lions are playing this by ear, at this point. While it certainly seems like they’d love to make Ratledge the full-time center, he’s going to have to earn it. With Glasgow’s center experience, they’re more than comfortable sliding him back inside, if necessary. That would kick Ratledge back to his college position at right guard—where we saw him playing during Thursday’s practice.
Whatever the Lions end up choosing, Ratledge is down with it.
“I enjoy football. It doesn’t matter where I am on the field, I love football. So yeah, I do enjoy center. I also enjoy guard. But like I said, it’s football. I love being out there.”