Lions draft Clemson OT Blake Miller 17th overall

The Lions have a new cornerstone on their offensive line: Detroit drafted Clemson right tackle Blake Miller 17th overall Thursday night.

Miller was a four-year starter at Clemson who looks like a Day 1 starter in the NFL. His arrival will shift Penei Sewell to left tackle and could soon give the Lions one of the stronger tackle tandems in the league.

"He’s played a lot of football," Dan Campbell told Fox 2's Dan Miller shortly after the pick was announced. "He’s solid, he’s steady, he can do it all. He plays physical in the run game. Freaking smart, tough, headsy. Got length. Moves well. We feel like this is a guy who can come in and compete."

Restrengthening the offensive line has been a priority for Brad Holmes and the Lions this offseason after the unit slipped last year. They signed Cade Mays to bolster the center position. And in the wake of Taylor Decker's departure, Miller could fill the void across from Sewell for several years to come.

He says he aims to emulate Lane Johnson for his "explosiveness and consistency," Trent Williams for his "confidence, swagger and creativity," and Sewell for his "physicality, nastiness and finishing blocks, and athleticism in the second and third level."

Miller is 6'7 with long arms who's built for the next level. He's also wired to play for a team like the Lions and for a coach like Dan Campbell. Miller missed one practice in four years at Clemson, when he had to get surgery on his wrist for an injury he suffered in spring ball entering his junior year.

"That was the only day they had for surgery, so I had to miss a practice for that, which kind of sucked," he said. "But recovered and after that, they had me in a giant mitten. Just tried to make it work from there. I want to be available.”

As one NFL scout put it, “The thought of letting down his coaches and teammates kills him."

Campbell's said Miller's performance in big games at Clemson also resonated with the Lions, who chose him over other first-round offensive tackles like Monroe Freeling (No. 19 to Carolina) and Max Iheanachor (No. 21 to Pittsburgh). Miller might not have quite the ceiling as Freeling, but his floor is higher, for a team built to win now.

"We had a lot of love for the guy. There were a lot of top-tier tackles in here and when you start watching, man, the closer we got to the draft, his consistency, the steadiness that he provided, it was just good production, week in, week out, for multiple years," Campbell said. "We like this guy, and we think he’s got upside. He’s got a high floor and we see a ceiling, too, that he can get to."

Scouts will tell you that Miller plays too upright at times and could be a little more consistent with his hands in pass protection. He's a tad stiff. But the bottom line is that he's fast, explosive and highly physical in the run game, hence the parallels he draws to Sewell.

His Relative Athletic Score is 9.90 out of 10, 17th out of more than 1,600 tackles evaluated over the last 40 drafts. And he earns high marks for his smarts, especially when it comes to handling stunts from the defensive line.

For the Lions, it's not a pick with a ton of sizzle. But then, neither was Decker, 16th overall in 2016. After a decade of dependability at a premium position, perhaps the next Decker has arrived.