Background

Keylan Rutledge grew up in Cleveland, Tennessee, and attended Bradley Central High School, where he was an all-state basketball player who amassed 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds and won the state championship in shot put as a senior. No Power 5 programs offered him in football. In 2022, as a three-star recruit, he committed to Middle Tennessee State, where he started six games at right guard and received Conference USA All-Freshman accolades, subsequently earning First-Team All-Conference USA and a team captaincy during his sophomore year. A coaching change at MTSU sent him to the transfer portal, and Georgia Tech won the recruitment. A car accident in December 2023 left him with a severe foot injury that cost him the entire offseason and spring practice. He started all 13 games at right guard in 2024 anyway and earned First-Team All-ACC and All-American honors. He repeated First-Team All-ACC in 2025 while anchoring a line that helped the Yellow Jackets average 31.7 points and 460 yards per game with 197.5 rushing. At the Senior Bowl, coaches had to tell him to tone down his physicality. He declared for the 2026 NFL Draft.

Physical Attributes

Rutledge's combine testing hides the fact that he is a very good, not great, athlete. Rutledge definitely dropped anywhere from 15 to 20 pounds before to help juice these numbers. Though seeing this, some front offices might want to have him keep that weight off. I do not know; to me, he was great with that extra weight as a mauler and a brawler. He might be a little heavy-footed and not as agile, but has so much strength in his base he moves people and barely gets moved, while still keeping decent speed.

Data and Tape Analysis

If you are unfamiliar with my OL radar charts, you can find more information here

Disclaimer upfront: I am a Georgia Tech season ticket holder, so it is impossible for me to be completely bias-free here. Rutledge was one of the players who embodied Brent Key's ideals on the field. He wanted to get out there and make people hurt, make it so you did not want to keep going, and let the Yellow Jackets overpower you. Rutledge helped set that tone, and it is one I will imagine he carries into the NFL.

I love Rutledge's work in the run game. As he fires off the line, he connects well with the defenders across from him and drives them backward. On the move, he looks smooth, and when pulling, he is great at finding a person to block and doing so with power still behind him. Those traits make him a very good gap scheme blocker, so much so that they would run behind him at the point of attack without a double team.

He is also good in a zone scheme. His upper body strength and speed excel here. On the move, he loses his biggest asset, his lower body driving strength to a degree, but can use his arms to dictate where he wants his opponent to go. Because he played bigger, I feel like getting him in lateral movements was not his strong suit, but in his combine testing, he showed maybe he can do it if he stays lighter.

As a pass blocker, Rutledge is hard to move head-on, but struggles in two key areas. When Rutledge faces opponents head-on, he maintains a firm base and barely loses ground, but speed and more exotic movements can beat him. His head stays a bit too stationary, and his target ID can misfire early, leaving gaps in the line when he chases the wrong player and let a blitzing LB in. Or he might notice that LB but does not have the lateral ability to get out to him with a decent base before he runs past him.

Grade and Outlook

Rutledge has that nasty, workman energy you want out of a lineman. He will get in and give 110% every play, even if he is injured and fighting through it. His calling card will be as a run blocker, but he should be able to stand up well as a pass blocker as well. See it as likely he tops out as a top 10 guard on his side of the line.

Grade: 5.9 (2nd Rounder)