Lions pick Blake Miller spent draft night watching Dan Campbell clips

Detroit Lions first round draft Blake Miller walks off the podium after speaking at the introductory press conference at Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park on Friday, April 24, 2026. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Some NFL first-round picks spend their draft night partying until the sun comes up. Some have a quiet night with family and friends. Some attend the NFL Draft itself to take in its glory.

But for Detroit Lions offensive tackle Blake Miller, the team’s pick at 17 overall, spent it a different way: watching clips of his new head coach Dan Campbell.

“Seeing some clips from Coach Campbell—I already followed him beforehand, but just digging even deeper now and seeing more and more of them, I was ready to run through a wall at midnight last night just listening to him talk,” Miller said during his introductory press conference on Friday. “I’m so fired up to just be a part of this team, this organization.”

What really resonated with Miller was the way he talked to—and about—his own players.

“Everything he says gets you fired up,” Miller said. “You listen to him speak and you can hear the passion in his voice. You can hear the care in his voice. That resonates with me. It gets me fired up and gets me ready to go.”

Ever since being drafted, Miller has raved about the Lions’ culture and spoken about how much of a match it is. He even noted how much overlap there is with his last four years at Clemson with coach Dabo Swinney.

“They value finish, they value grit. I think that was something that was emphasized to me when I was in college, and that’s something just being here today that I’ve heard a lot. It really resonates with me. That’s something that’s near and dear to me, so that gets me excited,” Miller said. “I just can’t say enough good things about coach Swinney. I can’t say enough good things about coach Campbell. They’re two guys who very obviously care a lot about their players, very passionate about what they do. They get fired up when the time calls for it. They’re two incredible coaches.”