Lions draft Michigan EDGE Derrick Moore in second round

ALLEN PARK — Another team captain drafted, another need filled

Detroit Lions GM Brad Holmes traded to move up six spots in the second round of the NFL draft, to draft EDGE Derrick Moore on Friday night.

Detroit swapped its 50th and 128th picks to the N.Y. Jets to select Moore, a team captain at Michigan, at 44.

In Thursday’s first round the Lions drafted offensive tackle Blake Miller who was a team captain at Clemson.

“We’re really, really excited. It’s hard to find guys – I’m not going to say we’re picky – but we just have a certain type that we like,’’ Holmes said.

So far in this draft the needs lined up with the best players which does not always happen.

“We’ve always said we’re going to take the best player. Look if there was – I’m sure there were other tackles available, and other edge rushers available –  but these were the guys we liked,’’ Holmes said.

The Lions finished last season at 9-8 and out of the playoffs. Bolstering the offensive and defensive lines was a priority in the offseason.

Moore stood apart from the other EDGE rushers available for several reasons.

“We’ve been pretty clear about what the requirements are at that position for us and he fits that,’’ Holmes said. “He’s a physical player, he can set hard edges, his pass rush greatly improved. When I look at Derrick — much similar to Blake Miller who we took yesterday — in terms of watching him for a long time. I’ve always felt the length, and physicality and power and pads (were there), but I didn’t really feel like his rush was quite there yet but this year he really got better.’’

He noted that Moore’s improved pass rush stood out during Senior Bowl week.

Moore said he considers Detroit a second home and looks forward to playing with Aidan Hutchinson, another Michigan product.

“I’m definitely excited to play with Hutch,’’ Moore said. “Hopefully I can learn a lot from him and we can go and cause a lot of havoc.’’

Moore, who is 6-4 and 255 pounds, was first-team All-Big Ten in 2025 with a dozen starts, leading the team with 10.5 TFLs and 10 sacks. In 2024 he was honorable mention All-Big Ten starting 12 games with 23 tackles, 6 TFLs with 4 sacks and two PBUs).

One draft analyst on Moore: “Swallows quarterbacks and runners like a crashing wave once he’s close.’’

NFL analyst Lance Zierlein scouting report reads: “Edge prospect with good size and length. Moore is far more active and engaged as a rusher than he is as a run defender. He has the ability to set firm edges, but his approach against the run can lack urgency. Against the pass, Moore is a bull-rush aficionado, piling up pressures and sacks. He’s strong through the top of the rush but needs to prove he can consistently stress long, well-anchored tackles. When it’s time to finish, he tackles with reliable technique and timing. If Moore cranks up the fire on all three downs, he can become a good full-time player. Either way, he projects as a starter capable of racking up pressures.”

Moore was the first Michigan player selected in the 2026 draft.

The Lions have six picks remaining: a fourth (118th overall), two fifths (157 and 181), two sixths (205 and 213) and a seventh (222). Saturday’s draft begins at noon.

Lions OT Blake Miller was sweating it out, learning about toughness as a 2nd-grade wrestler

First-round draft pick has credentials sought by Detroit

ALLEN PARK — Blake Miller’s first lessons in toughness and grit came from a no-nonsense coach on his second-grade wrestling team.

“He’d have us in the wrestling room with the heat all the way up to 95 degrees running around, I’m just a little second-grader,’’ Miller said during his introductory press conference. “He preached not quitting, he preached toughness and I feel like that kind of stuck with me. You want to be a guy who’s tough, you want to be a guy who’s going to finish and not crumble and stuff. It’s hard.’’

It was a small beginning but it apparently planted the seed in Miller, an offensive tackle who is known for his work ethic, toughness and grit. It all appealed to the Detroit Lions who drafted Miller with their first-round pick (17th overall) on Thursday night. It’s expected that Penei Sewell will move to left tackle and Miller will start at right tackle where he played for four years at Clemson.

Miller credits his father and mother, Chris and Karen, for instilling his work ethic.

“I really thank my parents for seeing them my whole life—  they’re mortgage and real estate agents. They work around the clock. They were always there for their clients. Seeing the work ethic they had – everyday working as hard as you could. I kinda feel I owe it to them to apply that above and beyond.’’

His folks and girlfriend Kylie Jicha, made the short  trip from their home in Strongsville, Ohio, (near Cleveland)  to Allen Park on Friday. 

Since he got the big news on Thursday night, Miller said he watched more videos of coach Dan Campbell.

“Everything he says gets you fired up,’’ MIller said. “You listen to him speak, you can hear the passion in his voice, you can hear the character in his voice. That resonantes with me, it gets me fired up, it gets me ready to go.’’

Miller never missed a game in his four years at Clemson, under coach Dabo Swinney, which he said prepared him for the NFL. 

“A lot of similarities in terms of they really value toughness, they value finish, they value grit. That’s something that was emphasized  to me in college,’’ Miller said. “Just being here today, it really resonates with me. It gets me excited. I can’t say enough good things about coach Sweeney. I can’t say enough good things about Coach Campbell. They’re two incredible coaches.’’

Swinney started Miller (6-foot-7, 317 pounds) as a freshman and coached him all four years. He knew Miller had what it takes to make it to the NFL right out of the gate.

“He was made in a lab, if you’re looking for an offensive tackle. God was in a good mood when he made him. It was offensive tackle day,’’ Swinney said in a conference call on Friday. “He can run, he can play in space, he can pull and, again, he’s got what you can’t coach. He’s got some things that some of my better tackles over the years have been downgraded on a bit – that natural length and size and the strength to go along with it.’’

Miller, who was rated in the top five or six of offensive tackles in the draft,  filled a need for Detroit. He said he never worried about where he fit in.

“I was making sure I was being the best version of me every day,’’ MIller said. “I think comparison is the thief of joy. So just focusing on my process day in and day out.’’

Lions fill need, draft OT Blake Miller in first round

ALLEN PARK — Offensive tackle Blake Miller (Clemson) was selected by the Detroit Lions with the 17th overall pick in the NFL Draft on Thursday night.

Miller, 22, fills a need on the offensive line with the departure of veteran left tackle Taylor Decker. Right tackle Penei Sewell could shift to the left side with Miller possibly starting at right tackle.

“When you think about Blake Miller, you sleep easy,” Lions GM Brad Holmes said in a statement that says it all.

Miller, who is 6-foot-7 and 317 pounds, was a Week 1 starter as a true freshman for the Tigers in 2022 and has played 3,762 career snaps since. All but 125 of those have come at right tackle. He holds the Clemson record for snaps from scrimmage  — 3,778 in 54 games, all starts.

Miller said he never missed a game in college, high school or even middle school.

“He just checks a lot of boxes,” 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. His ability is the stuff — he’s athletic, he’s a good athlete. It’s hard to find guys who can move like that and are finishers.”

Holmes said that Miller might not be aware but they’ve been watching him play for about four years. “He literally has gotten better every single year, that’s what makes you real excited about a player like that who actually has a high floor and has gotten better every single year,” Holmes said.

Miller met with the Lions through the pre-draft process. “I just loved the culture, the organization, I love the grit, I love the toughness that’s emphasized outside looking in and I really want to uphold that standard,” he said in a Zoom call.

He spoke just the right words when asked if he expects to contribute immediately. “My goal is to come in and work as hard as I humanly can, to be the best player I can humanly be,” Miller said. “At the end of the day how the cards fall fom there I can live with.”

Miller will benefit from being in the same offensive line group with Sewell, a first-round pick in 2021 who is considered one of the NFL’s top tackles. Miller said he’s watched plenty of tape on Sewell while in college and looks forward to working with him.

Lions coach Dan Campbell spoke to FOX 2 sports following the selection: “We had a lot of love for the guy. There were a lot of top-tier tackles in here, and when you start watching, man, the closer we got to the draft, his consistency, the steadiness that he provided, it was just good production, week in, week out, for multiple years.”

At Clemson Miller was a first-team All-ACC selection, becoming the 25th player in school history to earn at least three career All-ACC selections. Miller, who earned a degree in financial management in May 2025, wrestled and played football at Strongsville (Ohio) High School which is about 160 miles from Detroit. He was at home in Strongsville Thursday night with family and friends when he got the call from Detroit.

The Lions have eight more picks in the draft which will wrap up on Saturday. They have one second-round pick (50th overall), two fourth-round picks (118 and 128), two fifth-round picks (157 and 181), two sixth-rounders (205 and 213) and one seventh-round pick (222).

Second- and third-round picks will be drafted on Friday starting at 7 p.m. The fourth-seventh round picks begin at noon on Saturday.