A former Clemson offensive lineman, and 2026 first-round NFL Draft pick, has put pen to paper with his new NFL team.
Offensive tackle Blake Miller has signed his rookie deal with the Detroit Lions, the team announced this week.
Miller was the first Clemson player to come off the board in last month’s NFL Draft, when the Lions selected him with the No. 17 overall selection.
The financial terms of Miller’s contract were not disclosed by the team, but Spotrac projects his four-year rookie deal to be worth approximately $21.87 million. Since Miller was a first-round pick, his contract includes a fifth-year team option.
Miller was a mainstay on Clemson’s offensive line for the last four seasons, breaking the Clemson record for career snaps from scrimmage by playing 3,778 offensive snaps over 54 career games (all starts) from 2022-25.
The three-time All-ACC selection started every game Clemson played in his entire four-year career and set the Clemson record for consecutive starts by a non-specialist with 54.
Miller became Clemson’s highest-selected offensive lineman since 1960, when Lou Cordileone was selected by the New York Giants with the No. 12 overall pick and Harold Olson was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals with the No. 13 overall pick.
“Blake Miller is one of one,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. “I’ve never really had one like him. On the offensive line, I’ve had second-rounders, third-rounders, fourth-rounders, every round you can think, but he’s my first first-round offensive lineman, and, boy, is he worthy.”
After Detroit drafted Miller, Lions executive vice president and general manager Brad Holmes said the Lions have been high on Miller for quite some time and had their eye on him for a few years now. They view Miller as a “high-floor” tackle with the potential to continue improving as a professional.
“Really high-floor player,” Holmes said. “He’s big, he’s tough, he’s smart, he’s a finisher. He has unbelievable football character, work ethic. Everything from a culture standpoint, he fits that. That’s the easy part. But his ability – I mean, he’s athletic. He’s a good athlete, and it’s hard to find guys that can move like that, that are finishers, which that’s what he is.”
“He probably has no idea, but we’ve been watching Blake for about three years now,” Holmes added, “and he literally has gotten better every single year, and that’s what makes you really excited about a player like that who actually has a high floor, but he’s gotten better every year. So coming to this level with our offensive line coach and our ecosystem, I don’t see any reason why he won’t continue to get better.”
