On Thursday night, Clemson offensive tackle Blake Miller became the first Tiger to be selected in the 2026 NFL Draft when he was taken by the Detroit Lions with the 17th overall pick of the first round.

Miller became the first Clemson offensive lineman selected in the first round in Dabo Swinney’s tenure and the highest-selected Clemson offensive lineman in the Common Draft era (since 1967), surpassing guard Dave Thompson’s selection by the Lions with the No. 30 overall selection of the 1971 NFL Draft. Miller also became the highest-selected Clemson offensive lineman of any era since 1960 when Lou Cordileone was selected by the New York Giants with the No. 12 overall pick and Harold Olsen was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals with the No. 13 overall pick.

Miller became the seventh Clemson player selected by the Lions all-time and the first offensive lineman selected by the Lions in the first round since 2021, when Detroit selected four-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro selection Penei Sewell.

After the Lions drafted Miller, NFL Network draft guru and former NFL scout Daniel Jeremiah weighed in on the selection.

The pick of Miller fills the Taylor Decker vacancy and shifts Sewell to left tackle.

“He was my next highest-rated tackle who was on the board, someone who started 54 games at Clemson,” Jeremiah said. “Over 3,700 snaps played, with a wrestling background, and someone who was incredibly tough and can slide in at right tackle as they kick Penei Sewell over to left tackle. He played on the right side at Clemson.”

Jeremiah says Miller is exactly the type of player Detroit wants to have.

“This feels like a Dan Campbell [head coach] or Brad Holmes [executive vice president & general manager] type of player, and it’s a definite position of need,” Jeremiah said. “This is central casting for what the Lions look for in players.”

NFL Network compared Miller to Decker, a 2016 first-round pick and 2024 Pro Bowler who started 140 games during his 10 seasons in Detroit. He was officially released by the Lions in March after he requested to be released.

“And how about the comparison there,” Jeremiah said. “The guy that he’s replacing in Taylor Decker.”

Miller broke the Clemson record for career snaps from scrimmage with his 3,778 offensive snaps over 54 career games from 2022-25. A hard-nosed iron man, he started every game Clemson played in his entire four-year career and also set the Clemson record for consecutive starts by a non-specialist with 54.

He followed his 2022 freshman All-American season with three consecutive All-ACC seasons and joined Mitch Hyatt (four), Jeb Flesch (three) and Tyrone Crowder (three) as the fourth offensive lineman in school history to be a three-time All-ACC honoree.

“I think his athleticism did surprise some people at the combine,” Jeremiah added of Miller. “I wasn’t too worried about him, but he eased all those concerns there. He’s got instincts. He sees things clearly on the edge. … He’s an unbelievable finisher.”

–Clemson Athletic Communications contributed to this story