When it comes to the newest additions to Detroit’s offensive line room, second-round pick Tate Ratledge and fifth-round selection Miles Frazier, cross-training the two primary guards with some work at center is expected to be part of their early training.
Ratledge played almost exclusively right guard for Georgia with 37 starts there. Frazier played both guard spots and right tackle at LSU over 39 starts in Baton Rouge. Neither played center, however.
“Hank, he’ll cross-train all those guys,” Lions general manager Brad Holmes said after the draft. “So, if they’ve only been at guard, he’s going to put a ball between their legs and see if they can snap. But again, Hank’s not going to put somebody in a tough position either, so he’s going to be able to assess if they have the right makeup and mentality and communicative skills. That’s a big part of just — it’s not about just being able to snap, I mean, you have to have elite communication skills, not just as a starter, but even as a backup.”
The Lions already have one of the most elite centers in football in four-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro Frank Ragnow, but Holmes always has one on depth and another on the future. Ragnow turns 29 this month and backup center Graham Glasgow will be 33 in August. Detroit also thinks highly of the development of second-year center Kingsley Eguakun. But Fraley and Holmes want competition and options once it comes to roster cutdown ahead of the start of the regular season in September.