HOUSTON – When the Texans drafted Keylan Rutledge in the first round out of Georgia Tech, he drew equal praise for his gritty toughness and his versatility.
Both qualities have been on display for the rookie offensive lineman.
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Not only has Rutledge lined up with the starters at center as he competes with Jake Andrews for the job, the former All-American selection has also cross-trained at offensive guard.
Rutledge lined up with the first-team offense at left guard Wednesday during a full-team minicamp one day after playing center and having a few rough snaps. The Texans are preparing Rutledge to line up as soon as possible and are confident in his transition to the NFL.
“Keylan has done a great job,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “Keylan’s moved around from guard to center. He’s done a great job with both. Really great communicator as a young player, aggressive, intense, just like the tape you saw at Georgia Tech, so it’s looked great so far.
“I’m excited to see him as another guy, with all the rookies, I’m just excited to see the guys put the pads on in training camp and truly compete, get the opportunity to play in some preseason games.”
The Texans’ offensive line Wednesday included returning left offensive tackle Aireontae Ersery, Rutledge, reserve center Evan Brown, returning right guard Ed Ingram and former Pro Bowl selection Trent Brown at right tackle with projected starter Braden Smith working his way back from a neck injury from last season with the Indianapolis Colts. Wyatt Teller, a Pro Bowl selection with the Cleveland Browns previously, has been the first-team left guard for the majority of the offseason workouts.
Nicknamed ‘Big Red,’ Rutledge signed a four-year, $19.276 million fully guaranteed contract last week that includes a $10.479 million signing bonus.
Rutledge is known for his nasty streak.
He has already made a lasting first impression on hard-hitting Pro Bowl middle linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair
“The best offensive linemen I know are like gnats,” Al-Shaair said. “You blow them away, you get off the block, and then by the end of the play, you just feel somebody breathing on you like, ‘Man, get the hell away from me.’ That’s how it’s been for him specifically.
“There are times when I’m over there thinking about punching him, because he’s just right there, just on you and I love that. I think those are the best players at that position that I’ve played against just won’t stop. The mindset, the attitude, is stuff that is hard to coach. It’s hard to coach somebody to be physical. It’s just either you got it or you don’t.”
Why did the Texans draft Rutledge and have such a strong conviction about the third-team All-American and first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection? A hard-nosed mentality, and a pile of bodies he left on the ground with a series of punishing blocks.
“The things that stand out about him, toughness, violence, physicality, his playing style, his intelligence,” Texans general manager Nick Caserio said. “Basically, the guy wants to step on your throat on every play, which I would say sort of embodies what our football team is about, the way we play.
“Intense, violent, physical. We’re going to run the football this year. It was an area that we felt like we wanted to and needed to improve on during the offseason. Hopefully, we’ve done that.”
Georgia Tech coach Brent Key called him the best offensive lineman he’s ever coached and the toughest player he’s worked with.
Key told KPRC 2 he believes that Rutledge can be an All-Pro center one day.
Rutledge tries to embody that serious approach to the game every snap he takes.
“It’s just who I want to be as a football player,” Rutledge said. “You want to be tough. You want to be relentless. You want to punch somebody in the face. You want to set the tone, and I think that’s what I do.
“That’s what I’m gonna bring every day. I control what I can control and that’s how hard I play, how I finish, how I strain, how detailed I am. I think that comes with toughness, how you push through things when you don’t feel right. That’s what I bring to Houston.”
Rutledge worked out privately in Georgia for Texans offensive line coach and run game coordinator Cole Popovich shortly before the draft, per a league source.
The Texans were intrigued by the physicality and serious approach of Rutledge throughout the draft process. The recent private workout conducted shortly before the draft reinforced their strong feelings about him as a player and person, per a league source.
“Him getting down here to Georgia Tech and just working me out, obviously you go out there and try to put your best foot forward,” Rutledge said. “Show him who you are. Obviously, he’s watched so much tape, so he already knows, right? But just put me through some movement stuff, seeing how I move.
“He’s just honestly coaching me up, man, you know, telling me like, ‘Hey, this is how, if you came to Houston, this is how we would do things, how we’re gonna throw punches. I’m just just soaking it up, trying to be a sponge, trying to learn from that guy. Man, obviously he knows what he’s doing, and I really had good feedback. I knew he liked me.”
A Middle Tennessee State transfer, Rutledge is 6-foot-4, 316 pounds and has run the 40-yard dash in 5.05 seconds. He tested consistently in training in 4.9 seconds.
He was a first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection at right guard two seasons ago and a third-team All-American last season and all-conference again.
He is known for his power, strength, technique and go-for-the-throat style.
Rutledge won the Atlantic Coast Conference Brian Piccolo Award as the conference’s most courageous player, in recognition of overcoming serious injuries sustained in a automobile accident in December 2023.
Rutledge nearly had to have his foot amputated, but overcame the injury and got back to playing football again at a high level.
“It’s just a blessing, obviously, going through that car wreck when it could have been a lot, lot worse,” Rutledge said. “God had his hand with me. What happened to the foot that wasn’t a good deal, and then obviously, getting infected. When you get a bone infection, it’s a chance that they’re gonna cut it off. And that’s not good. God was just with me the whole time.
“Obviously, I battled back and found a way to get out there, and once, I found a way out there, two years of film and now we’re here. Just so blessed to be able to have this opportunity, and God’s been so gracious to me. I’m ready to get after it.”
He started all 13 games at right guard and did not allow a sack and surrendered just six quarterback hurries in 872 snaps in 2025.
Where Rutledge winds up playing is still being determined, but Wyatt Teller, signed to a two-year, $23 million deal, and Ingram, signed to a three-year, $37.5 million deal are expected to start at left guard and right guard, respectively.
“I’m comfortable at all three,” Rutledge said. “Honestly, obviously you’re most comfortable at right guard, because that’s what I played, kind of as a freshman, started there and just stuck there through all the years, but right side to left side. Obviously, it’s an adjustment.
“At center, man, I’m so comfortable with it, because coach Key always told me: ‘Hey, you have to play all three at the next level. You never know where they’re gonna put you at. I was kind of the emergency guy senior year. Senior Bowl, taking snaps, 100% confident that I can do that point out the Mike, have everybody on the same page. I can play all three.”
Right guard is where Rutledge has played the most, though, at the collegiate level.
“We’ll see,” Caserio said. “He’ll probably play wherever he needs to play. I’d say all three inside guys, you’ve got some guys that are center only, some guys that are guard only, some guys that can play all three spots.
“We’ll see how it goes. Where is he going to play? We’ll see. Nobody knows. We’ll figure that out as we go.”
NOTES: Veteran defensive lineman Logan Hall, a former University of Houston standout and Tampa Bay Buccaneers starter signed to a two-year, $13.75 million deal that includes $9 million guaranteed, has been sidelined at minicamp.
Hall is attending the workouts, but not practicing. He is expected to recover from a groin injury and knee tendonitis and be ready for training camp, per a league source.
Rookie tight end Marlin Klein, a second-round draft pick from Michigan, is recovering from a strained hamstring, per a league source. Klein hasn’t been practicing, running on the side with trainers.
The Texans have limited Pro Bowl wide receiver Nico Collins in drills.
Wide receiver Tank Dell, on a comeback path for training camp, has participated on a limited basis. He is recovering from a devastating knee injury suffered in December 2024 while catching a touchdown pass against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.
Dell has made significant progress after undergoing two surgeries to repair a dislocated knee along with torn anterior cruciate, medial collateral and lateral collateral ligaments. He is expected to increase his activity next month at training camp.
Several other players aren’t practicing, including safety M.J. Stewart as he continues to rehab from a torn quadriceps tendon last season, linebacker E.J. Speed, who sustained a season-ending torn quadriceps tendon and partially torn quadriceps muscle, per sources, while performing a single-legged squat in the weight room.
Nickel Jalen Pitre intercepted quarterback C.J. Stroud and returned the interception for a touchdown.
Al-Shaair delivered an acrobatic interception of a Stroud pass.
Stroud had some sharp throws, too, including passes to tight end Dalton Schultz and wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson. Backup quarterback Davis Mills threw a touchdown pass to Jaylin Noel, who has been the primary slot throughout the offseason after catching two touchdowns as a rookie last season. Mills’ timing and accuracy showed up on a slick, toe-tapping sideline catch from rookie wide receiver Lewis Bond.
“It’s that time of the year where you can show up and kind of just get by or you can actually try to push yourself to be better,” said Al-Shaair, who signed a three-year, $54 million extension this spring. “For me, coming into the NFL every single day, you have got to show up and work, and that’s all I know.
“That’s how I got to where I’m at in the first place, so I think that’s just the mentality of our team, and, obviously, as a leader, if you’re not doing it, you know, nobody else is going to really want to follow you.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com