Scouting Tate Ratledge: College tape reveals better pass protector than anticipated given mauler reputation
The Detroit Lions didn’t have any urgent short-term needs they were forced to address going into the 2025 Draft. Still, they faced several roster areas meriting long-term attention. Near the top of that list was a guard, where soon-to-be 33-year-old Graham Glasgow is coming off a down season and likely nearing the end of his career.
The Lions took care of that roster concern in the early stages of the event when general manager Brad Holmes used a fourth-round pick to move up three slots in the second round for Georgia guard Tate Ratledge.
Detroit would later double-dip on the draft’s third day, packaging two late-round choices to get into the back of the fifth for a perceived value selection, LSU’s Miles Frazier.
Frazier’s future impact shouldn’t be dismissed. He’s a superb pass protector with experience playing three different positions and the willingness to line up at all five. However, there will inevitably be higher expectations placed on Ratledge, who should push for a starting job as a rookie.
To better understand why the Lions felt compelled to move up and prevent another team from swiping Ratledge out from under them, we rolled the tape on several games from the guard’s senior season with the Bulldogs.
Below is a breakdown of what we learned about his skill set.