{"id":158452,"date":"2026-01-31T22:46:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T22:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/158452\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T22:46:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T22:46:09","slug":"las-vegas-raiders-draft-hear-from-georgia-techs-keyland-rutledge-at-senior-bowl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/158452\/","title":{"rendered":"Las Vegas Raiders draft: Hear from Georgia Tech\u2019s Keyland Rutledge at Senior Bowl"},"content":{"rendered":"

MOBILE, Ala. \u2014 The Las Vegas Raiders will be looking to improve their offensive line this season, and one 2026 NFL draft<\/a> prospect the Raiders should be interested in is Georgia Tech guard Keylan Rutledge. The former Yellow Jacket is currently projected to be a fourth-round pick, according to NFL Mock Draft Database\u2019s<\/a> consensus big board, and is a physical run blocker who would fit in well in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

I got a chance to sit in on Rutledge\u2019s press conference during the Senior Bowl\u2019s media day<\/a>, where he dove into his play style and mindset.<\/p>\n

Q: You talk about your mindset and physicality. Were those things that you had innately, or did you need to work at them to get to where you are?<\/p>\n

KR: I think I\u2019ve always been a tough guy, always battled adversity, always been resilient. So that\u2019s just part of who I am. But obviously, over time, you get tougher, you get more resilient, and stuff like that.<\/p>\n

Q: How do you get in the right mindset to play that way?<\/p>\n

KR: I don\u2019t really gotta go to a place [to get into that mindset]. That\u2019s just who I am.<\/p>\n

Q: What should a fanbase expect of you if you get drafted to their team?<\/p>\n

KR: I\u2019m a finsher. I\u2019m the most physical guy in the room. I\u2019m just going to punch you in the face for 60 minutes, and that\u2019s just what I do.<\/p>\n

Even better, Rutledge doesn\u2019t just talk the talk when it comes to his physical play; he lives it, and the draft community has taken notice. That mentality is one of the first traits noted by Bleacher Report\u2019s and well-respected offensive line analyst Brandon Thorn\u2019s scouting report<\/a> on the former Yellow Jacket.<\/p>\n

\u201cRutledge is a long, broad-framed mauler with heavy hands and bad intentions, who can rag-doll defenders. He has progressively provided more highlight-reel blocks as the season has played itself out. He does present inconsistent footwork and pad level, which lead to erratic sustain skills, but possesses can\u2019t-teach physical traits that can be molded into a potential NFL starter.\u201d<\/p>\n

From the sounds of it, Rutledge was born to be a Raiders offensive lineman.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MOBILE, Ala. \u2014 The Las Vegas Raiders will be looking to improve their offensive line this season, and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":158453,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[56640,143,145,144],"class_list":{"0":"post-158452","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-oakland","8":"tag-las-vegas-raiders-draft","9":"tag-oakland","10":"tag-oakland-headlines","11":"tag-oakland-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=158452"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158452\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/158453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=158452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=158452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=158452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}