Keylan Rutledge Is (Almost) the Perfect Packers Lineman

The Green Bay Packers likely have their starting offensive line set for the 2026 NFL season. With Sean Rhyan and Aaron Banks sticking around, all five starting spots are presumably locked up. However, their depth and future beyond 2026 remain unclear. The Packers must bring in a draft pick or two to provide some insurance now and develop for the future, and Keylan Rutledge out of Georgia Tech is the perfect Day 2 target.

However, the scouting staff must overcome one common fatal flaw for Packers offensive lineman prospects.

Rutledge was a key cog in Georgia Tech’s run-heavy offense. He’s one of the more experienced offensive linemen in this draft. He became a starter midway through his true freshman season at Middle Tennessee before transferring to Georgia Tech after his sophomore season. He never looked back, finishing his career with over 2,800 snaps. 

Keylan Rutledge was a tone setter for Georgia Tech as a mauling body in the middle of the line. He had a 76.7 PFF grade in 2025 with a 76.8 run-block grade and an elite 84.6 true pass set pass-block grade. Per PFF, he gave up just five total pressures and no sacks in 2025.

He’s been projected as a Day 2 prospect, and could potentially go early Day 3. He’s 76th on the consensus big board, rising from the 100s earlier in the process. The biggest thing holding back his stock was questions about his movement skills. Throughout the draft process, he has quieted much of that narrative. He stood out at the Senior Bowl, then had a great combine, showing off his ability to get around, and has continued to rise on boards. 

Keylan Rutledge tested in every drill at the combine except the bench press, producing a 9.69 Relative Athletic Score. The most surprising and impactful part of that score was his 4.54 short shuttle drill, which puts Rutledge in the 93rd percentile. That not only dispels much of the concern surrounding his movement skills, but it’s also one of the top metrics that Green Bay likes to use to evaluate linemen. 

At this point, Rutledge checks nearly every box for a Packers offensive lineman prospect. He fits the size threshold at 6’4”, 316 lbs. He has over 2,800 snaps across four seasons starting and two seasons starting for a Power 4 conference team, while still just 22 years old. Rutledge has a 9.69 Relative Athletic Score and a 93rd percentile short-shuttle time. He also has great tape in a run-heavy offense. There’s not much not to like. 

However, he may have one fatal flaw for the Packers’ front office.

The part of Rutledge’s profile that will deter Green Bay’s scouting staff is his positional versatility. The Packers very rarely take guards who play exclusively at guard because they value the ability to play both tackle and guard. 

Sean Rhyan, Anthony Belton, John Runyan Jr., Elgton Jenkins, Royce Newman, and Bryan Bulaga all played tackle in college. It goes beyond Brian Gutekunst's tenure. Lucas Patrick is the closest player to breaking the trend because he was a guard in college. He played a significant amount of guard for Green Bay, but that was after going undrafted out of Duke.

However, the Packers will take centers to play center. They’ve done it with Josh Myers and Corey Linsley in the past. While Keylan Rutledge isn’t a center, he has been doing some work at center throughout the draft process, showing he can also perform there. 

Still, he will not have the tackle versatility the Packers crave. He’s likely just a backup and future replacement for one of Banks, Rhyan, or Belton. However, Gutekunst ventured outside Green Bay’s parameters in the 2025 draft, moving away from some of Green Bay’s extremely strict thresholds. 

First, he took Matthew Golden, the first receiver Green Bay has taken in the first round since Javon Walker in 2002.

Later, he took Belton in the second round. Belton may play guard next season, but they announced him as a tackle on draft day and played him there until that experiment failed. That tells us they saw him as a tackle when they drafted him, meaning they went outside their tackle thresholds for a guy who was heavier than their typical pick.

Finally, in the fifth round, Gutekunst broke the thresholds again when he took Collin Oliver. At 6’1”, 240 lbs., Oliver is your typical undersized pass-rush specialist, but an atypical Packers pass rusher. He’s a body type Packers fans have been begging for the defense to add, but which Gutey has refused to take. Oliver is a pass rusher who can win with quickness and speed off the edge. He’s the first guy with his archetype that Gutey has taken.

Guteknust seemingly is more willing to stray from Green Bay’s norms. Is Rutledge's ability to play all three interior positions enough to overcome the fact that he's not a tackle? Time will tell, but he would be the perfect candidate to continue the trend and shore up the interior of Green Bay's offensive line.