With free agency calming down and the 2026 NFL draft about a month away, one of the biggest remaining needs on the Las Vegas Raiders’ roster is at nose tackle. Meanwhile, Georgia defensive tackle Christen Miller ranks 45th on NFL Mock Draft Database’s consensus big board, putting him in play for the Raiders in the second round at No. 36.
Granted, Miller was more of a versatile defensive lineman than a true nose tackle for the Bulldogs. However, he did record more than 25 percent of his career snaps
in the A-gap, according to Pro Football Focus, including 113 out of 437 this past season. Also, despite being listed at 310 pounds on Georgia’s roster, he weighed in at 321 pounds during the NFL combine, which is a good weight for a nose.
Perhaps even more important than all of that, the 21-year-old (turns 22 in August) is coming off a fantastic campaign as a run defender. He ranked second among FBS defensive tackles, trailing only Ohio State’s Kayden McDonald, with a 90.2 run defense grade from PFF. While Miller didn’t put up many eye-catching numbers with just 23 tackles, four TFLs and 15 ‘defensive stops’ this past season, he’s an excellent gap-filler in the trenches who can take away interior rushing lanes and set up his teammates to make plays.
With that in mind, let’s flip on the tape and see what the former Bulldog could bring to Las Vegas.
Miller doesn’t offer much as a pass-rusher, evidenced by recording just four sacks (no more than 1.5 in a season) and 45 total pressures (no more than 19 in a season) on 566 career pass-rush snaps. However, he is a good athlete for his size to grow in this area down the line and execute a few nuanced assignments.
Georgia is running a simulated pressure in the clip above, where two off-ball linebackers blitz and the edge defender drops in coverage. So, the defense is “blitzing” but is still only rushing four defenders.
To disguise the playcall, the Bulldogs have Miller lined up in a 2i-technique. However, with the blitz on the other side of the defensive line and the stand-up outside linebacker dropping into coverage post-snap, the defensive tackle has to move from inside shade on the guard to outside the right tackle to provide edge contain on the quarterback. That’s a difficult assignment for a 300-plus-pound defender to execute.
But Miller’s agility allows him to simultaneously work vertically while moving laterally and get to the right tackle’s outside shoulder in time. So, when the blitz creates a free rusher that flushes Auburn’s quarterback out of the pocket, Miller is in the perfect spot to force the ball out and help create an incompletion. Also, this is a good example of him adjusting to what he’s seeing by matching the QB’s path, rather than being a robot and staying engaged with the right tackle.
Again, I wouldn’t expect the Georgia product to contribute much in passing situations. But he can be used in creative ways to be part of the defense’s overall pass-rush plan via line games and assignments like this one.
Moving on to where Miller will make his money in the NFL: defending the run. We’re also going back to the 2024 season to see a textbook two-gap technique, a requirement for nose tackles in a 3-4 defense.
The Bulldogs show an even front initially and shift into an odd front, meaning Miller goes from lining up as a 3-technique defensive tackle to head up on the center as a nose tackle (0-technique). He barely gets a hand in the ground before the ball is hiked, but has more than enough power and strength to lock out the center (Pat Coogan, who transferred to Indiana and is also a 2026 draft prospect) and reset the line of scrimmage.
The defensive lineman is two-gapping, meaning he’s responsible for both A-gaps in this situation. Since he beats the center at the point of attack, Miller can peak or show color in the right A-gap, which is his primary assignment since the offense is in shotgun with the running back on the defense’s left. Most run plays out of the gun will hit on the opposite side of where the running back is lined up, so two-gap defenders should favor the corresponding gap.
However, Notre Dame runs halfback dive, where the running back attacks the same side of the offensive line that he was lined up (the defense’s left in this instance). That’s no issue for Miller, though, as he sees the back commit to the left, and uses his combination of strength and agility to shed the center’s block while crossing the center’s face to make the tackle in the other A-gap for a short gain.
This is a perfect example of how a nose tackle can take away both interior rushing lanes.
This time, the Bulldogs stay in an even front and have our subject lined up as a 2i-technique. But his assignment is pretty much the same, or at least very similar, to the previous clip. He’s still two-gapping, he’s just doing it from a shaded alignment instead of head up, and against a guard instead of a center.
That puts Miller responsible for the strong side A- and B-gaps against this weakside inside zone run from Auburn. With the offense in the pistol—meaning the running back is directly behind the quarterback—the defense doesn’t get a pre-snap indicator of what direction the run is designed to hit. So, the two-gapper’s primary responsibility is to take away the inside rushing lane, hence why Miller favors the A-gap initially here.
Additionally, he does a good job of maintaining a wide base while taking on the block and moving his feet laterally to stay in the gap since he’s on the backside of the play call. Again, he manages to win at the point of attack, getting extension on the block and playing in the offense’s backfield.
As a result, when the 3-technique on the other side of the defensive line defeats his block and forces the running back to cut backside, Miller seamlessly crosses the guard’s face and makes a tackle at the line of scrimmage in the B-gap. Once again, effectively taking away two inside rushing lanes.
Here, the defensive tackle has the freedom to get off the ball and penetrate while one-gapping. This is also an example of how he can help create plays for his teammates.
Miller is lined up as a shade nose tackle (1-technique) and is only responsible for the weakside/playside A-gap against Auburn’s inside zone run this time. While it’s a different assignment, the result is about the same. Miller wins at the point of attack with good leverage and heavy hands, resetting the line of scrimmage. He gets even more penetration than the previous reps since he only has to worry about one gap with the defense mixing up the play call.
While Miller doesn’t make the tackle on this play, he gets into the offense’s backfield so quickly that the running back cuts backside almost immediately after getting the hand off. That effectively cuts the field in half because the back can’t attack any of the frontside gaps/rushing lanes.
This would be an even shorter gain if the 3-technique, who is pinching into the playside A-gap, doesn’t get ridden past the center. Nonetheless, the linebacker and safety can make the play to keep the offense behind the sticks, which is the result of the nose tackle getting immediate penetration in the backfield.
Also, this rep comes against pretty good competition in Connor Lew, who is widely considered one of, if not the top center in this year’s draft class and is a projected late-second- to early-third-round pick.
There is some room for growth when it comes to Miller’s ability to take on double teams or combo blocks. But something he does well is attacking and beating the man he’s lined up across from.
He’s on the backside of this outside zone call from Tennessee, where the left guard and tackle are trying to combo block him and work up to the SAM linebacker (No. 3). The offensive linemen are trying to create a cutback lane, whether that’s the guard getting to the defender’s inside shoulder and the tackle takes over the block while the guard works up to the linebacker, or the tackle pins the defensive lineman inside before going to the second level.
However, Miller takes all of that off the table by attacking and beating the guard to reset the line of scrimmage. Then, his ability to keep his feet moving through contact and lateral movement skills allows him to work down the line of scrimmage while keeping the guard away from his body. That makes escaping the block easy, resulting in a tackle near the line of scrimmage from the backside of the play.
The former Bulldog faces another combo block on an outside zone run from the Volunteers here, but he’s on the front side of the play call this time. Also, he’s lined up head up on the guard instead of being shaded and gets beat off the ball a bit, allowing the guard to get to his outside shoulder.
But Miller adjusts on the fly, and instead of attacking the guard, he splits the combo block by turning his shoulders to “get skinny”. That gives the center less surface area to block and sets Miller up to win with a rip move, effectively splitting the two offensive linemen to get penetration and make a TFL.
In my opinion, Ohio State’s Kayden McDonald or Texas Tech’s Lee Hunter should be the Raiders’ priority if they’re looking to add a nose tackle. But if those two are off the board or Las Vegas decides to trade back in the second round, Miller is an excellent third option at the position. Also, I wouldn’t mind a situation where all three are available, so John Spytek decides to trade back and see which one falls to him while adding an extra pick or two.
In other words, the Silver and Black have a handful of quality options at the center of the defensive line, the Georgia product being one of them.
