Sometimes, a prospect's potential fit with a team almost makes too much sense, and for the Detroit Lions, that was the case in Round 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft. A ton of mock drafts had the Lions taking an offensive lineman in some capacity.
With Taylor Decker and the franchise parting ways earlier this offseason, but Detroit also signing a free agent center in Cade Mays, it was clear that tackle was a need for this team. Until Round 1 of the NFL Draft, Larry Borom was slated to be the likely starter at one of the tackle spots.
And with the possibility of Penei Sewell moving to left tackle being on the table, the Lions confirmed that big-time by selecting Blake Miller from Clemson at pick 17.
The Detroit Lions can now seamlessly move Penei Sewell to left tackle where he'll thrive
As a prospect, Miller is a perfect fit for the Lions. He started over 50 games in college for Clemson and has a metric ton of experience on the right side of the offensive line. He's a rather clean prospect and is about as polished as you can get for an offensive line prospect coming into the NFL.
Miller has an iron man mindset, so he'll fit right into the Lions rugged culture and should very easily win over the respect of his new teammates. By drafting a pure right tackle prospect, the Lions can easily move Sewell to the left side, a position he briefly played in the NFL and in college.
Sewell is arguably the best tackle in the NFL, but he typically wasn't playing on the blindside of Jared Goff. With Miller now in the mix, the Lions can kick Sewell to the left side, where he'll continue to thrive, and field the ideal situation with this unit.
Detroit's rise to the top of the NFL hierarchy in recent years has partly been due to the elite offensive line, and it's not a coincidence. Winning in the NFL means winning in the trenches, and it did feel like the Lions were going to take a tackle as we got closer to the NFL Draft.
The Lions also get younger in a key unit and continue to keep this window open despite regressing a bit in 2025, but that was primarily due to mounting injuries on the defensive side of the ball. This is a slam-dunk pick for Detroit.