With the 17th pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions selected Blake Miller, offensive tackle from Clemson.
Miller is a right tackle prospect from the state of Ohio. He played his college football at the University of Clemson and was highly decorated as a multi time all-conference player. He was a four-year starter at Clemson and is 22 years old. Let’s take a look at my scouting report on him.
If you are unfamiliar with my evaluation process let me give you the quick 411. I use a weighted numeric
scoring system that incorporates four major buckets to generate a score on a 0-100 scale: film/traits, analytics profile, athleticism, and intangibles. Each of those buckets has a set of position/archetype specific sub criteria. Using all-22 film, my process starts with the evaluation of every single snap a player played in his college career.
For this class, I have scored nearly 250 prospects and Miller scored as my 25th player overall. It is important to note however, my overall board is not team specific. Some players fit certain teams and systems better than others.
*Before we dive in, remember that all data cited in this section is provided exclusively by Fantasy Points Data Suite.
Accolades:
- Freshman All-American (2022)
- All-ACC Third Team (2023)
- All-ACC First Team (2024, 2025)
- Permanent team captain (2025)
- All-American Honorable Mention (2024)
- Started every game from freshman to senior year (54 games)
- 9.90 RAS Score
- OAC State Champion Wrestler (Ohio)
Strengths:
- Prototype size and length with S-tier athleticism. Miller is 6-foot-7 and nearly 320 pounds. He has over 34-inch arms and an 80th percentile wingspan. His movement skills are rare for the position and he tested like it at the combine posting a 99th percentile athleticism score. The peak of his athletic profile is his other worldly get-off. He fires out of his stance so fast there are reps of him making contact with a DL before they even move. The combo of length and get off is deadly. Beyond that his biggest asset is his lateral twitch.
- Run game tone setter and finisher. Miller is a powerful player in the run game that carries a nasty streak. His ability to latch, strain, and run his feet through his target might just be the best in class at tackle. There are reps of him moving second level players 20 yards downfield or out of the back of the endzone. There is a ton of tape of him getting guys on the ground and finishing. He goes through the whistle on every play.
- Run game technique is well developed. Miller is a scheme agnostic player in the run game. His hand fighting and grip strength is good. He has the lateral twitch and body control to thrive in zone concepts or working up to the second level. His blocking in space is terrific. He locates his target quickly and gets to his landmarks with efficiency and urgency, routinely demonstrating an ability to adjust to smaller, quicker defenders and get latched. He has been effective on combo blocks and holds up well blocking down against bigger defensive tackles. Clemson also ran a steady diet of power and counter and Miller showed adequate processing skills and pace as a puller.
- Strong pass-protector against power rushers. Miller’s play strength, power, and tenacity don’t just pop in the run game but also shows itself in his ability to sit on heavy bull-rushes and anchor–completely stalling out the rush and preventing counters off it. Miller’s initial punch is jarring and accurate as well, which also helps him win against players looking to win with speed. Miller gave up just 3 sacks, 5 hits on the QB, and a pressure rate allowed under 3% over the past two seasons (nearly 1100 pass-pro snaps).
- Insane resume and experience level. Blake Miller missed just one practice his entire college career. He was a starter for Clemson the day he stepped on campus and started all 54 possible games of his college career. He has seen just about all there is to see. Impressively, he had some of his best games against the top level of competition he faced. Most notably Jared Verse (2023), Donovan Ezeiruaku (2024), Mykel Williams and Jalon Walker (2024), and Ashton Gillotte (2024). It is worth noting that Miller continued to improve each year.
Weaknesses:
- Pad level issues with upright play style. Miller might expose his chest more than any other tackle in the class. It’s naturally hard for taller tackles to play with good pad level, but it looks like Miller doesn’t even try at times. This makes him susceptible to giving ground or getting snatched. There are three main phases of “leverage” for blocking. Miller knows how to use his hands and his hips, but his pad level is the final domino that needs to fall for Miller to reach his peak.
- Needs to improve recovery ability. When he loses in pass-pro, it’s usually to inside counters. Most of his dramatic losses in pass-pro are to inside arm-over (swim) or inside spin moves. For a player with his level of length, body control and athleticism, this really shouldn’t be a problem but it happened all too often. These reps came on a variety of scenarios too. Early on (2023 and 2024) you see him get beat inside on short-sets, usually off quick-game—which usually is no-harm, no-foul. However in 2025, you started seeing Miller overset on his verts and almost play with too much urgency, opening the gate inside to the QB. For the Lions specifically, Jared Goff isn’t the most equipped quarterback to deal with that type of pressure.
*You can find my formal writeups on Blake Miller and all the potential Lions Day 2 and 3 targets in my 2026 NFL Prospect Guide.
Bottom line:
Miller brings an excellent blend of high-floor (developed technique and experience) and high-ceiling (physical traits and intangibles) to the right tackle position for the Lions. His tenacity and mental configuration is picture perfect match with the Lions identity and culture. I believe the Lions’ high-level, play-action concepts could make up for some of the deficiencies listed above.
Overall, I expect him to be a Day 1 starter and provide a smooth, steady baseline with the ability to develop into a good-starter. I even expect the Lions to get more from their starting tackles in 2026 than they did with the injured Taylor Decker a year ago. This also means Larry Borom officially takes on the “swing tackle” role which is a major upgrade to the offense that has suffered from not having viable tackle options beyond their starters.
The Lions’ OL overhaul the past two offseasons has been impressive and needed. They have more depth and youth on the OL than ever before in the Brad Holmes era. Lions offense = stock up.
Highlights
Blake Miller with the collateral damage:
Miller being a savant at the second level:
Raw power:
