Sports wound up being Ratledge’s outlet, and his dad, Dean (an All-Ohio Valley Linebacker in college for Tennessee Tech), told him that everyone would want to be his size. Turns out, that was prophetic, as now Ratledge and his imposing size will be playing on Sundays.

Sometime last year, Tate Ratledge got a tattoo of a lion on his right forearm, artwork that he said "came full circle" when the Detroit Lions traded up three spots to take him in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

The Lions’ newest guard is athletic as all get-out. Ratledge scored an unofficial 9.98 Relative Athletic Score (RAS) out of a possible 10.00, ranking fourth out of 1,592 offensive guards from 1987 to 2025.