The Detroit Lions made their first round pick and apparently the football world thinks we actually know what we’re doing now. Wild times.
With the 17th overall pick, the Lions selected Clemson’s Blake Miller. At 6-foot-7 and 317 pounds, he’s the kind of physical presence our offensive line has been screaming for since, well, longer than we care to remember.
Dan Campbell didn’t waste time breaking down what they got in Miller. The coach told FOX 2’s Dan Miller that his new tackle has played a lot of football, calling him solid, steady, and capable of doing it all.
“He plays physical in the run game. He’s smart, tough, got length, moves well,” Campbell said. “We feel like this is a guy who can come in and compete and help us with the O-line.”
The Internet Has Feelings
Robert Griffin III was feeling the pick, praising Miller’s 54 straight starts and veteran-level stunt recognition. Because apparently consistency is something we can have now.
Mike Mayock called Miller “the most consistent offensive tackle in this draft.” Consistent. There’s that word again that Lions fans forgot existed.
Draft analyst Jon Ledyard seemed genuinely confused that Miller lasted this long, pointing out the kid is 22, has those 54 straight starts, missed one practice and zero games, has great character reviews, and tested like a freak athlete. Fair question, Jon.
More Than Just Football
The night got better when Easton, through the Make-A-Wish foundation, got to announce the Lions’ first round pick. Sometimes this team remembers what really matters beyond the wins and losses.
The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner had apparently seen this coming, telling Miller back in March to “hope you enjoy snow and coney dogs, my man, because you’re on your way.” Turns out some predictions actually come true.
One Lions fan summed up the optimism perfectly: “His tape is fantastic. If our guards can ball out then this o-line is back to being great.” Back to being great. Not trying to be great for the first time, but back to it.
And yes, I know what you’re thinking. This feels too good to be true, doesn’t it? But maybe, just maybe, this front office actually knows how to build something that lasts.
Is Blake Miller the missing piece that finally gives Goff the protection he needs, or are we setting ourselves up for another offensive line headache? Drop your take below.
Finally man, this is what I’ve been waiting to hear. Campbell sounds genuinely excited about Miller and you can tell he actually evaluated him properly. If this kid comes in and plays the way his tape shows, we might actually have something special up front for once.
I want to believe this so bad but I’ve been down this road before with our O-line picks. Yeah Miller looks solid on paper and everyone’s praising him but let’s pump the brakes until we see him actually play games in the NFL. Talk is cheap, results are what matter.
You know back when I was watching games regularly, a solid tackle in the first round was just basic team building. We used to know how to do this stuff and it’s nice to see some confidence creeping back into how we’re approaching the line. Here’s hoping this is a real step forward and not just another false start.
That part about him missing one practice and zero games is insane. That’s the kind of durability and consistency we need protecting Goff’s blind side. If the guards step up like that one fan said, we could actually have a respectable line for the first time in what feels like forever.