offensive line – Lions Lowdown

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.

Lions Dan Campbell gives 3 reasons that Jared Goff hasn’t been sacked in 3 games

Dan Campbell gives three reasons why the Lions have now allowed a sack in three straight games which is a franchise record.

Jared Goff was sacked four times in the opening loss at Green Bay, but has not gone down in the three straight wins. He’s been pressured but not sacked.

“It’s always going to start with the O-line. The way those guys work together. We talked about our two tackles, then how they all work in unison, sometimes turning the protection away and with all things being equal sliding one way — you’re helping the center which helps the guard, the guard helps the tackle. Those guys are working together really well,’’ Campbell said.

Goff couldn’t agree more.

“They’ve been awesome. They’ve really done a good job. In particular, this past week with that front, it’s really hard,’’ Goiff said. “Yeah, I’ve done my best to get the ball out and try to stay upright. I think that helps them and they help me, and it’s a good thing going right now.”

That brings us to Campbell’s reason No. 2.

“Goff has been outstanding in the pocket. His pocket presence when he’s chosen to step up , when he’s chosen to move,’’ Campbell said. “It’s been right-on. That helps big-time.’’

Goff said it’s something he works on. He’s not sure if he’s better now than in the past but it’s a work in progress.

“This year, I’ve done a pretty good job of it, but it starts when you – I could answer this question really long, but when you don’t have a lot of pressure, it’s easy to feel when there is one pressure. As opposed to when there’s always pressure, it’s hard to feel when it’s actually and when it isn’t,’’ Goff said. “That’s when you see a lot of guys scrambling when they don’t need to. I think when our O-line has been as good as they’ve been, when one guy does get edged, it’s easy to feel that and for me to move. And that makes it a whole lot easier for a quarterback.”

Thirdly, Campbell credits the receivers who are getting open with speed.

“They’re playing with urgency in the pass game. Those guys have to out-run the rush,’’ Campbell said.

It almost sounds simple, but if it was this would not be a record since sacks became an official stat in 1982.

“When you do all three of those things, good things happen,’’ Campbell said.

UP NEXT: Lions (3-1) at Cincinnati Bengals (2-2), 4:25 p.m. on Sunday.

Lions offensive line off to good start on first day in pads

On the first day in pads at Lions training camp on Monday, the offensive line made a few knock-down plays that had the fans oohing and ahhing.

In one set of one-on-one drills against the defensive line, the offensive guys showed their stuff on each matchup.

“You put the pads on, it’s real football, I’m very confident in our O-line going one on one matchups with anyone. That being said, I think our D-line is going to be really good this year,’’ left tackle Taylor Decker said. “You saw Charles Harris come on last year, he’s picked up right where he left ott. He’s a beast, he’s a really good player, he’s a super high effort all the time. I think as Aidan (Hutchinson) learns you’re going to see him — he loves to ball, he’s into it, he loves to learn. It’s going to make both groups better.’’

A year ago, the offensive line also looked to be a strength but due to injuries there was never a game where all five starters played. Not one game.

Now they’re back and healthy. Decker sat out Saturday as a precaution due to his foot injury last year but on Monday he said it’s fine.

“I think we expect every single guy on the offensive line to play at a high high level at their position, whatever that means as far as accolades I don’t know. You come out here every single day and you try to get better as an individual, you’re going to help the guard next to you, then you’re going to help the unit, then you’re going to help the offense, then you’re going to help the team,’’ Decker said.

They expect much out of themselves. Decker and right tackle Penei Sewell both noted how going against the Lions defensive line – including Harris and rookie Aidan Hutchinson – will help make them better.

“It benefits me a lot to see those two guys. Charles came in and shocked the world (last year).. I didn’t really know who he was, he’s a beast,’’ Sewell said. “To have Aidan follow that type of guy that makes him better and I’m following Deck. It’s kind of the same thing back and forth. Iron sharpens iron, everyone knows that.’’

Sewell, who flattened cornerback Jeff Okudah in one drill on Monday, is entering his second season and feels more comfortable since he knows his teammates so well now. They’re a tight-knit group as is typical for most offensive lines.

“That chemistry too makes my job way easier out there. I know what to expect. The speed is way slower, everything is not coming at me 1,000 mph, everyone is normal speed and I like it,’’ Sewell said,

Perhaps the most growth is expected from Sewell who is making the jump from year one to year two.

“I think I’ll know more as we get more padded practices. One thing me and him have talked about as far as just keeping the width of the pocket, just setting aggressive, being confident on your sets and changing up your sets. That’s something as I’ve gotten older I’ve done a lot more of. It might be third-and-10 but I’m going to jump set this guy because he’s not expecting it,’’ Decker said.

Along with Decker and Sewell, other offensive line starters are expected to be Frank Ragnow at center, Jonah Jackson at left guard and Vaitai Halapoulivaati at right guard.

“Our excitement is through the roof. We know what we’re capable., everyone knows what we’re demanding out of each and everyone of us in the room,’’ Sewell said. “The sky’s the limit, only we can control that and how far we can go.’’