Breaking down Lions’ second-round draft pick Tate Ratledge’s film from his time at the University of Georgia.
Next up in our film study of the Detroit Lions ’ 2025 draft class, we have right guard Tate Ratledge. Drafted 57th overall after Lions general manager Brad Holmes traded up three spots in the second round, Ratledge logged over 2,000 snaps at the University of Georgia and earned First-Team All-American honors in his final year in Athens.
Standing 6-foot-6 and 308 pounds, Ratledge is a mountain of a man at right guard who plays the position with a nasty streak. In the running game, he wants to bury defenders when he gets his hands inside of somebody, and he will let you know about it afterward, too. And with a RAS of 9.96 at guard, he has the athleticism and traits to continue his development under Lions offensive line coach Hank Fraley.
And with the retirement of All-Pro center Frank Ragnow , that development may need to happen sooner rather than later. Whether it is at center from the jump or at guard in 2025 and center later on in his career, Ratledge is going to be someone the Lions rely heavily upon right away if they want to continue their success from the last several years.
If you are looking for the first installment, where I broke down aspects of first-round pick Tyleik Williams’ game, you can check that out right here.
Now let’s get into Ratledge’s tape from his time in Athens.
Keeping his head on a swivel in pass protection
Both pre-snap and post, Ratledge does an excellent job of identifying where he needs to be in pass protection. On the rep below, both defensive tackles for Kentucky slant in an effort to free up the blitzer
Instead, Ratledge and the rest of the offensive line are able to wash the defenders down the line of scrimmage, while the running back picks up the extra rusher.
Next up, we have a clip from Georgia’s game against Ole Miss, where Ratledge is once again a step ahead of the defense. Despite having a tackle head-up with him pre-snap, he sees the linebacker (#11) walk down towards the line of scrimmage at the last minute, hoping to shoot a gap on his way to the quarterback. Ratledge picks him up, and if it weren’t for a nice delayed rush off the edge, Georgia’s offensive line would have blocked this up perfectly.
Vice grips
Another aspect I loved of Ratledge’s tape was his grip strength. In pass protection, once he latches onto an opponent’s chest plate, he is able to sink his anchor in and halt even the nastiest of bull rushes. In this clip against Auburn, he is able to do just that.
He knows he has to work left out of his stance, and wastes no time in doing so. From there, he shoots his hands and immediately sinks his hips. If I have one bold prediction to make for Ratledge out of the gate in 2025, it would be that I think he is going to be a pro-ready pass blocker almost immediately.
When it comes to run-blocking, Ratledge’s vice grip ability gives him another big edge—particularly when he runs into the unlucky linebacker or defensive back. Watch as he displaces the three-technique off of the line of scrimmage, making it an even easier block for his teammate.
He then climbs to the second level and gets inside of Kentucky’s middle linebacker. It’s only bad news for the defender from there, and the rep ends with Ratledge putting #54 flat on his back. When football people talk about playing the position like a “dirtbag,” these are the traits they are talking about.
Power at the point of attack
An additional trait of Ratledge’s that pops on tape is his power when firing off the ball. On this particular rep, he is responsible for reach-blocking the nose tackle so that his center can get to the linebacker at the second level. There is almost no wasted movement as he moves laterally, engages with the defender, and continues to drive his feet through his assignment.
In the next clip, we are jumping to another run-blocking rep from Georgia and Kentucky. The play gets blown up for other reasons not related to Ratledge, but just watch how far he is able to displace his assignment up the field once he engages.
Passing off games and stunts
Lastly, we get to one of the more underrated parts of Ratledge’s appeal as an interior pass-protector—his ability to recognize and pass off rushing defenders. These days on obvious passing downs, more defensive coordinators are opting to mix things up along their defensive lines when it comes to twists and stunts. In turn, this is making communication and execution even more essential for opposing offensive lines.
For the example below, Auburn is having their defensive tackle crash toward the right tackle while the end attempts to loop inside off of his hip. Ratledge and his teammate see it the whole way, giving their quarterback the time to step up in the pocket and deliver a dart near the boundary.
The mental aspect of the game for Ratledge may end up being the toughest part of his rookie season in Detroit, regardless of where he—or veteran offensive lineman Graham Glasgow—lines up along the offensive line. The SEC is obviously still among the best football being played at the college level, but as we know, things get turned up several notches at the NFL level.
How quickly can Ratledge become comfortable enough to assist Glasgow and Jared Goff with pre-snap calls? From a physical standpoint, I believe Ratledge’s transition should be as seamless as it can be for a player making the leap to the professional game. Without a doubt, the second-round pick will be a player to keep an eye on throughout training camp and joint practices.