HOUSTON – The Texans have landed Georgia Tech offensive guard Keylan ‘Big Red’ Rutledge, a massive blocker with a nasty streak.
Rutledge was acquired by the Texans after trading up to the Buffalo Bills’ first-round pick at 26th overall in exchange for a trade that nets them the 91st overall selection. They sent the Bills the 28th overall, 53rd overall and 168th overall selections.
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“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.”
Rutledge recently worked out privately in Georgia for Texans offensive line coach and run game coordinator Cole Popovich, 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 conviction about him as a player and person, per a league source.
“The makeup on this guy is elite,” Caserio said. “I think ‘Big Red’ who he is is emblematic in what you saw tonight. Basically, the guy was in an Airbnb with his wife and that was pretty much it. You see some of these other draft parties, it’s like a circus.
“This guy is all ball. He’s all football. Doesn’t really care about anything else. Wants to punch people in the mouth. Yep, that works here. That’s what you see on tape, which is part of the intrigue with the play.”
Now, Rutledge is a Texan as he joins an overhauled line that includes left tackle Aireontae Ersery, left guard Wyatt Teller, center Jake Andrews, right guard Ed Ingram, right tackle Braden Smith and former Pro Bowl swing tackle Trent Brown.
Rutledge has been called one of the toughest players in recent Georgia Tech football history.
A Middle Tennessee State transfer, Rutledge is 6-foot-4, 316 pounds and has run the 40-yard dash in 5.05 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 hard-nosed 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.
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.
Rutledge could challenge center Jake Andrews for a starting job. He has played some center, including at the Senior Bowl all-star game.
His best spot, though, is right guard.
“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.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com