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Detroit Lions GM Brad Holmes has long said he doesn't simply draft for need. Would it be nice for his team's holes to line up with the best players available? Of course. But he won't select a prospect to merely fill a perceived vacancy on the depth chart.
That strategy will be put to the test during the 2026 NFL Draft.
The Lions aren't necessarily in dire straits at offensive tackle, but they can certainly use a replacement for Taylor Decker, who had his request for release granted earlier this month. If the Lions were to play a game tomorrow, their starting OTs would be Penei Sewell and Larry Borom.
Borom, a Michigan native who started 11 games for the Miami Dolphins last season, was given a one-year deal worth $5 million, making him tied with two others as the 48th-highest paid OT in the NFL, from the standpoint of average annual value, according to Over The Cap. His contract and career to this point (38 starts across five seasons) dictate he's a fringe starter who could be the answer opposite Sewell in 2026, though that's far from set in stone.
With most of the top free-agent options off the board, the Lions, if they do want to find another option aside from Borom, will presumably look toward the draft, ideally in the first round. Anything can change between now and mid April, but the pecking order at offensive tackle seems to be crystalizing.
Francis Mauigoa (Miami), Spencer Fano (Utah) and Monroe Freeling (Georgia) make up what can be described as the near-consensus top tier. The next group consists of Blake Miller (Clemson), Kadyn Proctor (Alabama), Caleb Lomu (Utah) and Max Iheanachor (Arizona State).
ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said he doesn't see a world where Mauigoa or Fano make it to the Lions at No. 17 overall, and he doesn't envision Freeling being available, either, though he admitted some analysts have him sliding further down the board than he does. In Kiper's latest mock draft, Freeling went to the Cleveland Browns at No. 6.
If you're looking for a starter out the gate from the second tier, Kiper said Miller is the best bet.
"He could have come out after his junior year and been a second-round pick, (but) he went back and became a first-round pick," Kiper said in a recent conference call with reporters. "He was one of the few Clemson Tigers that played above and beyond what you expected this year."
Miller has loads of experience (54 starts at right tackle over the last four seasons) and has shown year-over-year improvement, with the amount of pressures he allowed shrinking from 25 (2022) to 22 (2023) to 18 (2024) to 14 (2025), according to Pro Football Focus. Miller's addition would signal a potential move to left tackle for Sewell, who played the position in college but shifted to the right side once he got to the NFL.
"If you want more of a given at right tackle and your idea is, 'OK, we're going to put Penei Sewell at left tackle,' then Blake Miller would be the guy who's already NFL-ready from a technique, experience standpoint, solid performances week after week," Kiper said. "He would be a guy you could pencil in from Day 1 as a starter, as opposed to some of the guys who are a little bit less of a guarantee."
Miller had a strong performance at the NFL Scouting Combine in March. His time in the 40-yard dash (5.04 seconds) ranked 14th out of the 39 offensive linemen who participated in the event, and his 10-yard split (1.75 seconds) was 13th. He was 18th out of 40 offensive linemen in the vertical jump (32 inches) and seventh in the broad jump, at nine feet and five inches.
Plus, he checks all the measurable boxes, coming in at 6-foot-7, 317 pounds with 34¼-inch arms and 9¾-hands. Of the seven offensive tackles mentioned earlier who are projected as potential draftees in the first round, only Freeling (34¾ inches) measured in with longer arms.
Miller never missed a game over his four seasons at Clemson, and a broken bone in his wrist caused him to sit out of just one practice during the spring period between his sophomore and junior campaigns. And he was only absent that day because that was the only time his doctors were available to perform the required surgery to mend the issue, he explained at the combine.
"He's solid, durable throughout his career," Kiper said of Miller. "Consistent."
[email protected]
@rich_silva18
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Blake Miller could provide Detroit Lions immediate impact as first-round offensive tackle
Continue reading...
That strategy will be put to the test during the 2026 NFL Draft.
The Lions aren't necessarily in dire straits at offensive tackle, but they can certainly use a replacement for Taylor Decker, who had his request for release granted earlier this month. If the Lions were to play a game tomorrow, their starting OTs would be Penei Sewell and Larry Borom.
Borom, a Michigan native who started 11 games for the Miami Dolphins last season, was given a one-year deal worth $5 million, making him tied with two others as the 48th-highest paid OT in the NFL, from the standpoint of average annual value, according to Over The Cap. His contract and career to this point (38 starts across five seasons) dictate he's a fringe starter who could be the answer opposite Sewell in 2026, though that's far from set in stone.
With most of the top free-agent options off the board, the Lions, if they do want to find another option aside from Borom, will presumably look toward the draft, ideally in the first round. Anything can change between now and mid April, but the pecking order at offensive tackle seems to be crystalizing.
Francis Mauigoa (Miami), Spencer Fano (Utah) and Monroe Freeling (Georgia) make up what can be described as the near-consensus top tier. The next group consists of Blake Miller (Clemson), Kadyn Proctor (Alabama), Caleb Lomu (Utah) and Max Iheanachor (Arizona State).
ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said he doesn't see a world where Mauigoa or Fano make it to the Lions at No. 17 overall, and he doesn't envision Freeling being available, either, though he admitted some analysts have him sliding further down the board than he does. In Kiper's latest mock draft, Freeling went to the Cleveland Browns at No. 6.
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If you're looking for a starter out the gate from the second tier, Kiper said Miller is the best bet.
"He could have come out after his junior year and been a second-round pick, (but) he went back and became a first-round pick," Kiper said in a recent conference call with reporters. "He was one of the few Clemson Tigers that played above and beyond what you expected this year."
Miller has loads of experience (54 starts at right tackle over the last four seasons) and has shown year-over-year improvement, with the amount of pressures he allowed shrinking from 25 (2022) to 22 (2023) to 18 (2024) to 14 (2025), according to Pro Football Focus. Miller's addition would signal a potential move to left tackle for Sewell, who played the position in college but shifted to the right side once he got to the NFL.
"If you want more of a given at right tackle and your idea is, 'OK, we're going to put Penei Sewell at left tackle,' then Blake Miller would be the guy who's already NFL-ready from a technique, experience standpoint, solid performances week after week," Kiper said. "He would be a guy you could pencil in from Day 1 as a starter, as opposed to some of the guys who are a little bit less of a guarantee."
Miller had a strong performance at the NFL Scouting Combine in March. His time in the 40-yard dash (5.04 seconds) ranked 14th out of the 39 offensive linemen who participated in the event, and his 10-yard split (1.75 seconds) was 13th. He was 18th out of 40 offensive linemen in the vertical jump (32 inches) and seventh in the broad jump, at nine feet and five inches.
Plus, he checks all the measurable boxes, coming in at 6-foot-7, 317 pounds with 34¼-inch arms and 9¾-hands. Of the seven offensive tackles mentioned earlier who are projected as potential draftees in the first round, only Freeling (34¾ inches) measured in with longer arms.
Miller never missed a game over his four seasons at Clemson, and a broken bone in his wrist caused him to sit out of just one practice during the spring period between his sophomore and junior campaigns. And he was only absent that day because that was the only time his doctors were available to perform the required surgery to mend the issue, he explained at the combine.
"He's solid, durable throughout his career," Kiper said of Miller. "Consistent."
[email protected]
@rich_silva18
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Blake Miller could provide Detroit Lions immediate impact as first-round offensive tackle
Continue reading...
