Blake Miller Spent Draft Night Doing What Every Lions Fan Does: Watching Campbell Clips
Some first-round picks spend draft night partying until sunrise. Others keep it quiet with family. Some even show up to the actual draft to soak in the glory.
But Blake Miller, the Lions’ pick at 17 overall, spent his draft night differently. He was watching Dan Campbell clips on repeat.
You know what? That’s exactly the kind of thing that makes you think this kid might actually get it.
Ready to Run Through a Wall at Midnight
“Seeing some clips from Coach Campbell—I already followed him beforehand, but just digging even deeper now and seeing more and more of them, I was ready to run through a wall at midnight last night just listening to him talk,” Miller said during his introductory press conference on Friday. “I’m so fired up to just be a part of this team, this organization.”
Look, we’ve all been there. It’s 11:47 PM, you’re supposed to be going to bed, but somehow you’re three Campbell press conferences deep and ready to personally block for Jared Goff in your pajamas.
What got to Miller wasn’t just the kneecap-biting bravado. It was how Campbell talks about his players.
The Care in His Voice
“Everything he says gets you fired up,” Miller explained. “You listen to him speak and you can hear the passion in his voice. You can hear the care in his voice. That resonates with me. It gets me fired up and gets me ready to go.”
Miller has been raving about the Lions’ culture since getting drafted. He even sees overlap with his last four years at Clemson under coach Dabo Swinney.
“They value finish, they value grit. I think that was something that was emphasized to me when I was in college, and that’s something just being here today that I’ve heard a lot,” Miller said. “They’re two guys who very obviously care a lot about their players, very passionate about what they do. They get fired up when the time calls for it. They’re two incredible coaches.”
And yes, I know what you’re thinking. We’ve heard rookies talk a good game before. But there’s something different about a kid who spends draft night studying his new coach instead of celebrating. Maybe it’s the football nerd in him. Maybe it’s genuine excitement about playing in Honolulu Blue.
Either way, it beats spending your first night as a Lion doing something stupid on social media.
Is Miller actually ready to embrace the grind in Allen Park, or is this just good rookie PR? What do you think of our new tackle’s Campbell obsession?
This is exactly what I want to see from our picks. Kid gets drafted and instead of hitting the club he’s soaking up Campbell footage trying to understand the culture. That’s the kind of mentality that actually sticks around and builds something real.
Look I get it, the kid said all the right things at his presser. But we’ve heard rookies talk passion before and then they hit the rookie wall in training camp. I hope he’s different but I’m not getting my hopes up just yet.
You know what I like about this? Back in the day you had guys who just got drafted and didn’t give a damn about the details. This kid caring enough to study his coach on draft night reminds me of the kind of player who actually builds winning football. That matters more than people think.