Keylan Rutledge waited a while for his first NFL win. The Houston Texans rookie offensive lineman lost all of his preseason games and the first four games of the regular season before Houston beat the Tennessee Titans 26-3 on Sunday. “Great, because we didn’t win none in preseason, and we lost the first four. I was 0 and 7. I’m like, dang, man, I got to get a win,” Rutledge said on the team’s radio show this week. “So there was a lot of smiles out of that one. But just right back to work. You got a big one this week.”
That big one is in London, where the 1-4 Texans face the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. Rutledge has already played overseas: Georgia Tech won a game in Ireland during his college career. “We went up there and got a win, so hopefully I’m 2-0 overseas. That’ll be great,” he said. He expects the trip to feel familiar, with a flight of about eight and a half hours and practice soon after landing. “That first day you’re like, oh,” he said. “And you wake up Saturday a little bit better, and Sunday you’re like, all right, I’m ready to go.”
Center, left guard, right guard
Rutledge played right guard throughout college. In Houston he has played center, both guard spots and, during OTAs, left guard, before settling on the left side. “Setting going left then right is a lot different than obviously having your hand on the ball is a lot different,” he said. “But how we try to teach our technique here is very similar. All three guys are playing very similar in the technique way, so it’s been good.” When a host compared switching sides to eating with the other hand, Rutledge said, “Definitely,” and admitted his right-handed stance still feels more natural after four years there.
He said the reps at center have helped him at guard next to veteran Evan Brown. “It helps me so much because I don’t have to think as much,” Rutledge said. “He’s obviously going to make the call, make the Mike point, but I’m already getting up there thinking through his set of eyes. All right, there’s the Mike, I got this. Versus most of the time when you’re at guard and you don’t know that, you’re just really banking on him and you might be a little indecisive. I can almost go ahead and set the table in my head as soon as we get up there.”
“Five playing as one”
The Texans protected C.J. Stroud well and ran the ball against Tennessee, a week after putting up a lot of points in a loss to Dallas. Rutledge said the line is getting better by playing as a unit. “Up front, it’s five playing as one,” he said. “Don’t let it be me this time, then this guy this time. Let’s all play the play the right way, playing good technique, play with each other. All them little things, those start to stack up in the run game, going from two, three yards to five, six, seven, and then you bust some big runs. And then obviously in protection, being tied together, that’s big.”
He named Ed Ingram, Wyatt Teller, Evan Brown and Jake Andrews as interior veterans who have helped him, along with left tackle Aireontae Ersery, who started as a rookie last season. “He just felt what it feels like to go out there and play your first snap, get your first start,” Rutledge said, “and then getting in this gauntlet that we’ve been having, and the ups and downs.”
The gauntlet of defensive tackles
Asked about a welcome-to-the-NFL moment, Rutledge pointed to the interior defenders he has faced over the last few weeks. “Kind of All-Pros and Pro Bowlers you’re getting week to week here recently. It’s been great because it’s really challenged me,” he said. “Made me understand how much your technique really needs to be honed in when you’re playing really, really good players.”
He said preparing for center started before the draft, when Georgia Tech coach Brent Key told him that being able to play guard and center would help his draft stock, and continued with predraft training in Dallas. “By the end of the day, man, it’s football, like you got to snap the ball,” he said. “You’re playing a game you’ve been playing forever. So just go out there and just play.”
The radio crew described him as a natural leader, remembering him showing a group of linemen a play on his iPad during training camp. “I’ve always kind of been gravitated to a leadership role, and just, if I got something to say, I’m going to say it,” Rutledge said. “And just lead by my actions most importantly.” He also admitted the rookie snack supply is running low: “A couple of vets have told me, like, hey, we need to restock. So yeah, I got to get going here soon.”
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