Tim Twentyman

If there's one thing Detroit Lions offensive line coach and run game coordinator Hank Fraley believes whole-heartedly in when it comes to his offensive line room, it's making sure all his players are cross-trained to play multiple spots along the front.

NFL roster restrictions usually allow for just eight offensive linemen to be active on game day. Those restrictions make versatility upfront key and has been a staple of Fraley's room for years in Detroit along with grit, toughness and high skill level.

We've seen tackles play guard on game days because of injury, and vice versa, and the more a player can do, the more valuable he is to Fraley and the Lions.

When it comes to the newest additions to Detroit's offensive line room, second-round pickTate Ratledgeand fifth-round selectionMiles 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-ProFrank Ragnow, but Holmes always has one on depth and another on the future. Ragnow turns 29 this month and backup centerGraham Glasgowwill be 33 in August. Detroit also thinks highly of the development of second-year centerKingsley 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.

"I'm here to do whatever helps the team win," Ratledge said. "I'm a team player through and through. They need me to kick out at tackle, I'll go kick out at tackle. They need me to be an X receiver and run go balls, I can do that.

"I think it's down to what they need me to do and what they see me as. And then like I said earlier, I just want a chance to compete and a chance to go out there and do my best every day. That's really all I'm into right now."

Frazier said LSU offensive line coach Brad Davis had the same philosophy of cross-training his room as Fraley does in Detroit and LSU tackles Will Campbell and Emery Jones, who were drafted by the Patriots and Ravens, respectfully, cross-trained at every position while in Baton Rouge.

"If anything happens, at any moment, I'm able to jump to left side, left guard, right guard, right tackle, left tackle. The only position I haven't played is center, but I'm open to that too," Frazier said.

"But I would just say and also, not a lot of people know, but I was the backup I was the starting right guard, but the backup tackle on both sides, so my coaches put a lot of trust in me to have that versatility at the highest level, and I feel like I can definitely do it."

That will be one of the fun parts of training camp is watching these two young linemen develop and seeing what kind of position versatility they have as Detroit finds the best positions for them and ultimately their best combination of five players to start the season.