NFL Draft 2025 player profile: Tate Ratledge, guard, Georgia

Syndication: Tuscaloosa News — Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ratledge is one of the top guards in this year’s draft, but he comes with injury concerns.

One of my favorite times of the year is writing the NFL Draft Reports. Some of the Seattle Seahawks picks I’ve nailed down in recent years include Byron Murphy II, Christian Haynes, Tyrice Knight, Devon Witherspoon, Zach Charbonnet, Olu Oluwatimi, Kenny McIntosh, Boye Mafe, Abe Lucas, and Riq Woolen.

With the NFL Draft just a week away, we’re continuing to take closer closer looks at a host of prospects, including expected Round 1 picks all the way to Day 3/UDFA options. Today we’re reviewing Georgia guard Tate Ratledge, the only one of the trio of Bulldogs offensive linemen who has yet to have a reported official 30 visit with the Seahawks.

Let’s get to the report!

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Prospect Info

Name: Tate Ratledge

Jersey #: 69

College: Georgia Bulldogs

Position: G

Awards: – Second-team All-American in 2023

– Third-team All-American in 2024

Class: Senior

Style: Power

Comparison: Kevin Zeitler

Projection: 3rd round

Combine/Pro Day Results

HT 6’6

WT 308 lbs

Arms: 32 1/4’’

Wingspan N/A

Hands 10 1/2”

40 yds 4.97s

10 yd split 1.72s

Short Shuttle: 4.67s

3 Cone Drill: 7.38s

VJ 32”

BJ 9’ 5’’

Bench Press N/A

Relative Athletic Score: 9.96

Background

Tate Ratledge is an experienced guard from Georgia. He will be 24 when the season starts and his experience is reflected in his 5 years in Georgia, with 38 games (36 starts). He had over 2,070 snaps as a RG and 4 more as a LG.

He is a player with good mobility, probably coming from his background as a basketball player. Something to keep in mind is the guard’s injury history:

– Missed 14 games due to a Lisfranc foot injury in 2021;

– Missed 1 game each year due to an undisclosed injury in 2022 and 2023;

– Missed 4 games in 2024 due to a sprained MCL and ankle in 2024;

Evaluating the prospect…

Pass Protection

He is a strong and robust guy, solid. However, he ends up vulnerable to swim moves due to the fact that he leans too far forward at the moment of contact.

He has good mobility for a tall and heavy guy. At times he can lean forward, but overall he does a good job of staying in front of rushers.

Ratledge’s mustache shows his old school side. He is an aggressive OL with good punch, in addition to the mentality of finishing blocks.

In addition to perception, to do a good job against stunts/twists, it is necessary to know when to pass the blocker to the teammate, making the change of target. He has this good timing without compromising balance.

Run Block

He has good timing for combo-blocking and executes with good synchrony. Here he manages to maintain good leverage against Deone Walker, he can control the snap and finishes the block well with aggression.

He helps the center double-team and advances to the second level to block and once again leave the LB on the ground.

Good first contact taking the DL off the running line.

He has mobile hips to adjust during blocks and control the DL by countering his attacks.

Good athletic ability to both go to the second level and work as a puller. He also has a good angle to seal gaps. He is an excellent fit for our zone-running scheme. His 10-yd split was the 4th best and his zone block grade was 71.4.

There was an “explosiveness quotient” in the Tom Cable era, known as TEF. The targets for OLs are three tests: vertical jump, long jump and bench press. They need to reach, respectively, 31”, 9”, and 27 reps. If they achieve this, their TEF will be 3 and anything above that is considered very good. Tate achieved a 3.10, the same value achieved by Will Fries, who was theoretically a target of Seattle in free agency.

Without a DL in front of him, he goes after the LB who is close to the line. He gets control quickly and creates the running lane for his RB.

STRENGTHS:

– Size / weight / length for the position.

– Athletic ability;

– Raw strength at POA;

– Anchoring;

– Many games as a starter;

– Excellent mustache;

WEAKNESSES:

– Experience only as a RG;

– Leans too far forward at certain times;

– Games missed due to injury (20);

Final Thoughts

Ratledge enters the NFL with a very high floor. He still has potential to improve, his hand positioning technique and contact with opponents need to evolve. The big question is whether a player who has spent so much time “repeating” technical mistakes would be able to assimilate these changes. In addition to being good players, Georgia’s interior offensive line trio has the athletic ability to be a fit with Klint Kubiak’s offense.