Keylan Rutledge is quite the athletic specimen. He's hoping football will be his professional career but in his high school days, Rutledge was All State in basketball twice. He totaled more than one thousand points and one thousand rebounds. The Royston, Georgia native was also All State in track and a state champion in shot put.
As for his football career in high school, he initially played tight end but was eventually moved up front to the offensive line and was a three star prospect.
Rutledge started the college portion of his football playing life at Middle Tennessee State. He started 17 games over two seasons and in 2023 earned first team All Conference USA status. He then transferred back to his home state to play for Georgia Tech.
In 2024, he started all 13 games at right guard for the Yellow Jackets. Rutledge was named first team All ACC and All American. According to Sports Info Solutions, Rutledge had only two blown blocks in nearly 400 pass protection snaps. Pro Football Focus rated him the top guard in the ACC in pass blocking.
Last season, he once again started all 13 games at right guard and, like his junior season, earned All ACC and All American recognition. He became the first Georgia Tech football player to be named an All American in back to back seasons since current Pro Football Hall Of Famer Calvin Johnson in 2005 and 2006.
Rutledge majored in History, Technology and Society and received his Bachelor's degree last December.
Joe Marino provides draft analysis for WGR. His website is thejoemarino.com and you can listen to his Locked On Bills Podcast. Joe shares his thoughts on Rutledge.
Positives:
He's got a really heavy punch, powerful upper body. A finisher's mindset. He generates a lot of movement in the run game. If you want somebody that can move bodies out of the way, he can certainly do it. Love the grip strength. That helps him latch onto blocks. When he sets the clamps, it's hard for people to get off of him and displace his hands. So his ability to sustain blocks is really good. Another guy with a firm anchor, you're not really worried about rushers going through him. A power player here with an aggressive mindset.
Negatives:
He has to be careful to play with better pad level. He can play tall and then get top heavy and that'll lead to some balance issues and some lunging. I do think he's got to maintain a better base in pass protection to avoid softening his own edges and to maintain that coordination. I think he has modest flexibility and some heaviness to his feet, which will impact his ability to recover and stay under control and stay square in pass protection.
The NFL Draft will be held April 23-25 in Pittsburgh.
Interior offensive line is an area the Bills could address in the draft. This is a look at one of the top prospects.
Interior offensive line is an area the Bills could address in the draft. This is a look at one of the top prospects.
