I’ve been doing opponent preview articles for years and you know which ones suck the most to write? Week 1 of any season. I can’t truly rely on stats from last year because there are so many variables that change between years. I could historical matchups, but… see above. Player previews are fun but we’re left with one of two choices.
Option 1: Players who were on the team before where there’s plenty of footage. It’s not likely I’m sharing anything new and there’s always a chance of change between
seasons.
Option 2: Rookies where I can give authentic first impressions but it’s based on a very low data set.
The title likely gave away I went with option 2 and that’s in large part thanks to some fantastic coverage by the rest of the Buffalo Rumblings team, breaking down hit recent history between the two teams and the ferocity of the Houston defense. Houston’s draft results this year though took me in a different direction.
Keylan Rutledge
So why Rutledge and why might he actually be the key to victory for Buffalo? If you read this by Chris Trapasso, or this by Rachel Auberger; you likely already know how ferocious the Houston defense has been and how they were the key to the game last year in beating Buffalo.
However, if you read closely you likely also noticed that Buffalo’s offensive line was banged up as well as the skill players that day which shouldn’t be the case this time around. If you dive into the box score, you might also have noticed that despite the Texans barrage of sacks, the Bills put up a mostly average number of points and the defense held the Texans to a VERY average scoring output.
Enter Keylan Rutledge. The rookie guard is the only member of the Texans’ 2026 draft class currently expected to start Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills. If the health of Spencer Brown, Dion Dawkins, Keon Coleman, and Dalton Kincaid will help the offense out, they might be able to normalize the points scored. If the defense can exploit the rookie lineman, that might help knock a few points off the Houston side of the ledger too.
So what are we looking at?
Play notes:
- I like Rutledge’s fundamentals here. The right hand grabs the shoulder (grab does not equal hold) and moves his feet well to keep the block established.
- Good awareness of the clutter in front of him prevents Rutledge from tripping, but the defender he’s blocking is able to free themselves relatively easily once they can accelerate.
- Rutledge’s mechanics fail him here and he goes upright. I point out the feet not because they’re horrible. It’s normal to see them come together and make a short base while moving. That is however, a big reason it’s so dangerous to get stood up like this. If you find yourself upright when your feet are tighter together it’s easy to get rocked. OK fine, I don’t love the feet either. His steps are choppy and at one point he’s pretty close to clicking his heels together. Not his best snap here.
- I note two things in the clip and both are related. He’s a little too eager on the block and gets ahead of his defender, which risks allowing your opponent to cut in and into the lane you’re, you know, trying to blocking from. Realizing that, Rutledge holds on and twists, and this should have been a holding call.
- This is a really good rep and shows why he’s the likely starter. Rutledge always finds work and starts off helping his tackle out. He’s quick to respond to the linebacker and gets a good piece of him. The only flaw is that there’s no latch on and the defender can scoot away to get back into the thick of things.
- What can you say here except that he’s a rookie?
- This is a good contrast to play 3. Rutledge’s body mechanics are like night and day. Again, rooke.
- Remember how I said Rutledge always finds work? Yeah, sometimes he shouldn’t. This should have been called as a block in the back and it wasn’t the only one.
In summary, Rutledge is a lot of what you’d expect. There are certainly very good traits the Texans should be excited to see develop. They’re interspersed with moments of learning/vulnerability for now. If the Bills can take advantage of his mistakes, it could go a long way in flipping the script from last season.
