Georgia football is one of the programs who finds the most success in the NFL Draft every year. In fact, the Bulldogs ended the 2025 draft with the second most selections, only trailing National Champion Ohio State.
While it is nice to have a lot of players drafted, it’s impossible to know for sure which Bulldogs will go on to start playing and excel during their rookie seasons. A lot of it has to do with what their current team looks like and if there are any veteran players above them on the depth chart, but sometimes the adjustment to the NFL is too challenging for some.
Tate Ratledge was one of the first Bulldogs selected in the draft as he was drafted in the second round (56th overall) by the Detroit Lions. Usually being drafted this high means they will receive a lot of playing time as a rookie, that however was not the case for Ratledge as he had All-Pro offensive lineman Frank Ragnow ahead of him on the depth chart. And no matter how well Ratledge performed this offseason, he was not going to be able to start over him.
Raglow however shocked the entire NFL on Monday as he announced his retirement after a seven year career with the Lions.
Frank Ragnow’s retirement will allow Tate Ratledge to immediately become a starter
Now that Ragnow is out of the picture, this should allow Ratledge to come in and become a starter for the Lions week one. And there really is no better opportunity for Ratledge at this point in his career, because the Lions have had the best offensive line in the NFL the last few years.
On top of that, Detroit is one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl this season as well. So while Detroit fans will be upset at this news from Raglow, Georgia fans know that Ratledge will be able to come in and help their offense not skip a beat.