Doughnuts and coffee. Burger and fries (and a shake). Cold beer and warm weather. Three perfect examples of combinations that couldn’t be more perfect if they tried. But what if I told you there might be a fourth one just as fitting?
The New York Giants have made a lot of moves in free agency, but one glaring roster hole still sticks out like spinach in your teeth: the starting right guard spot. And with the draft right around the corner, they’ve got a chance to fix it in a way that just makes too much sense... dare I say like doughnuts and coffee.
ESPN's Matt Miller pretty much laid it out as clearly as it gets, pointing to Georgia Tech offensive guard Keylan Rutledge as one of the best fits to fill New York's need outside of Round 1:
"Protecting Jaxson Dart and opening holes for Cam Skattebo is paramount to the Giants' draft plans. [Keylan] Rutledge might be the only prospect tougher and nastier than Skattebo. He's an elite run-game blocker and has upside in pass protection, making him a fixture at right or left guard."
I'm sorry. Did someone say Rutledge might be the only prospect tougher and nastier than Cam I-run-into-telephone-poles-for-fun Skattebo? I've never been sold faster on a prospect in my life. Sign me all the way up.
Keylan Rutledge is the cold beer to the Giants' warm weather
Like I said, some things just go together. Rutledge is widely projected as a late second to early third round pick, so the G-Men would have to be comfortable taking him with the 37th pick -- unless they trade back.
The 6-foot-4, 316-pound guard is the most athletic prospect of his position group, which shows up in his 9.62 Relative Athletic Score:
Keylan Rutledge is a OG prospect in the 2026 draft class. He scored an unofficial 9.62 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 68 out of 1749 OG from 1987 to 2026.
— RAS.football (@MathBomb) March 1, 2026
Pending bench and pro day.https://t.co/mKyeHPlNcA pic.twitter.com/1hk4mdhDtb
It’s not just the athleticism or the roster hole that makes him a fit for the Giants. It’s what he does on the field. That’s the part that’ll have front offices paying attention, especially Big Blue. Harby didn’t bring in Isaiah Likely and Patrick “Pancake Pat” Ricard to play soft. Nah. They’re here to pulverize. That just so happens to be Rutledge’s thing.
The former Yellow Jacket is a known "mauler," bringing a physical demeanor rivaled by few (see Skatt comment above ^). He'd be the perfect fit for Harbs' power/gap scheme, pulling all over the formation and bullying defenders into another universe.
Related: PFF may have pointed out obvious fix Giants still haven’t addressed
While he could come in and become a Day 1 starter, he's not perfect... but his flaws are pretty electric. For instance, his biggest weakness is essentially that he's too aggressive out of his stance -- like he needs a fix for that contact -- which forces him out of position, both in pad level and in hand placement. But that can be fixed.
It really doesn’t have to be more complicated than this. The Giants need a right guard, and Rutledge fits the need. Some things just go together, and this feels like one of them.