The Detroit Lions selected Clemson offensive tackle Blake Miller with the 17th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Miller was a player we profiled often on Pride of Detroit, and you can read some detailed things about him in the following articles.
- Why the Lions should draft Blake Miller
- Blake Miller ranks 1st among OTs in Grit
- 7-round mock draft with Blake Miller as the first-round pick
But here are five things you need to know about the Lions’ first-round pick right now.
- He’s got GRIT
Here at Pride of Detroit, we have our own grit metric called the Grit Index, which attempts to quantify a player’s toughness, intelligence, and overall fit in the Lions’
culture. Miller earned a 9.67 grade (out of 10), which was not only best among the entire class of this year’s offensive tackles, but was the sixth-highest mark out of ANYONE in the draft.
He scored high on the metric because he was a captain at Clemson, plays with a meanness, and has incredible toughness. At the NFL Combine, I asked Miller to tell his story about when he suffered a wrist injury in spring practice. The kicker: He got surgery and missed a single practice before jumping back in with the boys:
2. He was the most experienced tackle in the draft… and didn’t miss a single game in four years
Along with that toughness came a player who essentially didn’t miss a single game. In fact, when asked by Lions media when was the last time he missed a game, Miller said he doesn’t remember missing a game at any level of football.
As a four-year starter at Clemson, he started 54 total games. Of those 54, 52 were at right tackle, two were at left tackle. So you can essentially write Penei Sewell’s name in pen at left tackle now. The move is coming.
Dan Campbell more or less confirmed that in a conversation with Dan Miller shortly after the pick:
And despite all of those starts, Miller is still just 22 years old. So there’s plenty of room to grow.
3. He’s got all the athletic traits needed in a prototypical offensive tackle
Miller scored a 9.90 RAS score, a metric that combines size, speed, and explosiveness into on statistic, ranking 17th out of all offensive tackle prospects dating back to 1987.
Beyond that, he also has an arm length of 34.25-inches (59th percentile) and wingspan of nearly 84 inches (80th percentile). In short, he has everything you could possibly want from a physical profile of an offensive tackle.
4. Todd McShay compared him to… Taylor Decker
In his 2026 NFL Draft guide, Todd McShay compared Miller to the man he’ll indirectly replace: Taylor Decker. Here’s what McShay had to say:
“Miller compares well to 2016 Detroit first-rounder Taylor Decker, who started 145 games for the Lions. Decker is a left tackle, while Miller is a plug-and-play right tackle, but both are relentless and have good power, experience, toughness, and size. It’s worth noting that Miller has longer arms and tested better at his combine.”
5. Blake Miller is “one of one,” has Day 1 ability
After the pick, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney offered this statement on Miller to Lions media:
“Blake Miller is one of one. I’ve never really had one like him. On the offensive line, I’ve had second-rounders, third-rounders, fourth-rounders, every round you can think, but he’s my first first-round offensive lineman, and, boy, is he worthy. He is big, he’s strong, he’s athletic, he’s a leader, and he’s one of the most committed guys I’ve ever coached. He’s a finisher. He was a captain for us. This guy started every game of his entire career from being a true freshman all the way through his senior year. He only missed two practices in his whole career, never missed a game. So, man, I think he’s got day one ability. I think he walks in and he helps their football team the day he gets there.”
