T.J. Lang has played a lot of football over his 10-year NFL career. He knows what good guard play looks like, and he thinks Detroit has a really good one in the making in Frank Ragnow, the team’s first-round pick last offseason.
“It’s not easy to come in as a young lineman and be thrown into a starting role, especially with some of the defensive tackles you have to block now,” Lang said this week when asked about Ragnow.
“But just the way he approaches the game, sitting in the meetings and asking questions, I think I really bonded with him this year, just because he was so urgent to learn new techniques and learn everything you can about defenses.”
There were some ups and downs along the way for Ragnow, like there is with all rookies, but Lang saw more good than bad, and sees the potential for a lot of really good football from Ragnow moving forward.
“He wants to be great and that’s something as an older guy to have an opportunity to kind of teach him a little bit, maybe take him under my wing, was an honor,” Lang said. “He’s got a great future here. He’s a strong kid, big kid and great athlete.”
