Sports wound up being Ratledge’s outlet, and his dad, Dean (an All-Ohio Valley Linebacker in college for Tennessee Tech), told him that everyone would want to be his size. Turns out, that was prophetic, as now Ratledge and his imposing size will be playing on Sundays.

The Lions’ newest guard is athletic as all get-out. Ratledge scored an unofficial 9.98 Relative Athletic Score (RAS) out of a possible 10.00, ranking fourth out of 1,592 offensive guards from 1987 to 2025.

The Detroit Lions selected Georgia IOL Tate Ratledge with the No. 57 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft.