Clemson OT Blake Miller selected in first round of 2026 NFL Draft

Clemson football didn’t have to wait long to hear its name called Thursday night.

Blake Miller was selected No. 17 overall by the Detroit Lions in the 2026 NFL Draft, becoming the program’s first player off the board this year. The former right tackle turned in one of the steadiest careers Clemson has seen in recent seasons, and that consistency played a big role in how high he climbed.

“It would be a tremendous honor to have that for our university and all of our coaches and staff that had poured into me over the years,” Miller said before the draft. “It is a testament to them as well.”

Miller’s time at Clemson was defined by availability as much as performance. He started all 54 games over four seasons and finished with a program-record 3,778 offensive snaps. Week after week, he stayed on the field, eventually setting the school mark for consecutive starts by a non-specialist.

His production followed the same pattern. After picking up Freshman All-American honors in 2022, Miller went on to earn All-ACC recognition in each of the next three seasons. That stretch put him in a small group of Clemson linemen to collect three all-conference selections and made him one of the few players in school history to record multiple seasons with more than 950 snaps.

The pick also continues a strong run for Clemson under Dabo Swinney. Since 2013, the Tigers have produced 19 first-round selections, one of the highest totals in the country over that span. Miller is the first Clemson player taken in the opening round since Nate Wiggins in 2024, marking the fifth time in the last seven drafts that a Tiger has gone in the first round.

His selection carries some added historical weight, too. Miller is the first Clemson offensive lineman chosen in the first round during the Common Draft era, which began in 1967, and the first from the program to go that early since 1960.

For Clemson, it’s another first-round moment. For Miller, it’s the next step after a career built on showing up and delivering every single week.

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