Allen Park — Blake Miller is a man who focuses on himself.
So even though he knows that he’ll be compared to some of the other offensive tackles who went in Round 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft on Thursday night — and particularly Georgia’s Monroe Freeling, who went two picks after the Detroit Lions took Miller 17th overall — he’s not worried about how that decision will look over the coming years.
Miller was the fourth offensive tackle taken in an opening round that saw seven players at his position come off the board. Spencer Fano (Cleveland Browns, No. 9), Francis Mauigoa (New York Giants, 10), Kadyn Proctor (Miami Dolphins, 12) all went before Miller. Freeling (Carolina Panthers, 19), Max Iheanachor (Pittsburgh Steelers, 21) and Caleb Lomu (New England Patriots, 28) went after.
“Obviously, there’s a lot of talented guys in the process, and my biggest thing was just making sure that I was trying to be the best version of me every day,” Miller said of the pre-draft process and how he stacked up among his peers.
“I think comparison is the thief of joy, so just focusing on my process day-in, day-out, and trying to be the best I could be.”
Miller and his family departed the family home just outside Cleveland around 10 a.m. on Friday. They made the drive north to a city he’s never visited. The last 24 hours have been a whirlwind. He stayed up late watching old clips of Lions coach Dan Campbell, his new boss, speaking to players. Around midnight, he was ready to run through a wall.
In a moment like this, it must be hard not to consistently be thinking about what comes next and how he’ll measure up.
But with his NFL dreams officially off and running, Miller, an offensive tackle from Clemson who became the Lions’ first-round pick at No. 17 overall on Thursday night, is simply trying to stay grounded.
“I’m trying to have gratitude for the moment,” said Miller, who posed for pictures with his dad, Chris, his mother, Karen, and his girlfriend, Kylie, before fielding questions from the media.
“Just enjoying the fact that I get to drive up here and see these amazing people, tour these amazing facilities. The amount of thankfulness and gratitude that I have in my heart right now is incredible.”
Miller has been preparing his entire life for an NFL career, even when he didn’t realize it. His parents worked “around the clock” as mortgage and real estate agents, demonstrating a work ethic that’s also required to be an NFL athlete.
In second grade, he was in a “no-nonsense” wrestling program that showed him what it’s like to push himself past the limits he previously thought existed. He often participated in 95-degree practices, learning about toughness and grit for the first time — two qualities that would go on to make him an excellent character fit in Detroit.
“He preached not quitting, he preached toughness, and I feel like that kind of stuck with me,” he said. “You wanna be a guy who’s tough. You want to be a guy who has grit. You want to be a guy who’s gonna finish and not gonna crumble when stuff gets hard.”
The wrestling background has played a major role in Miller’s career. It taught him leverage and other physical tools that translate to being an offensive lineman, of course, but the part about finishing came up over and over again in comments from coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes on Thursday night when discussing the pick.
That’s another area where he shows off the intangibles that the Lions are getting in the 6-foot-6¾, 317-pounder who became the Lions’ latest first-round pick on Thursday night. As Miller put it himself when being introduced on Friday afternoon in Allen Park, “It doesn’t take any God-given ability to be a guy who finishes.”
“Like, it’s a mentality, it’s a mindset. … You’d get called out (at Clemson) if you were the guy who was letting guys come off blocks. It was expected that you’re finishing your block all the way down the field,” Miller said.
Miller has said all the right things about his fit in Detroit since being selected, both in Thursday’s initial Zoom press conference and during the in-person press conference on Friday. But Kylie confirmed those very real feelings in a video of Miller’s draft call that Clemson Athletics posted on social media Thursday night. When Kylie hears Miller say the words, “Coach Campbell,” her face lights up.
As for the clips he was taking in on Thursday night, Miller said, “Everything he says gets you fired up.”
“You listen to him speak and you can hear the passion in his voice, you can hear the care in his voice, and that resonates with me,” Miller said. “It just gets me fired up. It gets me ready to go.”
nbianchi@detroitnews.com
@nolanbianchi
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Blake Miller, Detroit Lions draft pick, not worried about comparisons
Reporting by Nolan Bianchi, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
