The first time Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes noticed Blake Miller was 2024, when he was watching tape of Clemson in Miller’s sophomore season.

Holmes doesn’t remember who Miller was playing or what exactly he did in the game, but he thought enough of the young lineman – in his second of four seasons as a starter – to write a note to himself: “This kid’s a football player.”

Two years later, after seeing steady growth in Miller’s development, Holmes made Miller the 17^th pick of the first round in the 2026 NFL Draft – and the final piece of the Lions’ rebuilt offensive line.

MITCH ALBOM: Blake Miller a safe 1st-round draft pick for Detroit Lions’ life in the middle

“His urgency and athleticism, that was the first thing that really kind of caught my eye,” Holmes said. “I thought he had some things that he needed to work on from a strength-development standpoint, but I said – so this is off of ‘23 tape –I was like, ‘Man, if this guy gets stronger, man, this guy’s a football player here.’

“And sure enough, ’24 came, he got better. And ’25, it was like, ‘25, it was to the point where it was like, ‘Yeah, there’s no issues here.’ And it’s a testament to him and his work ethic, so I’m not surprised ’cause this guy’s a high football-character individual.”

Miller is expected to compete immediately at starting right tackle on a Lions offensive line that could have new starters at four different positions this fall.

All-Pro right tackle Penei Sewell is expected to move to left tackle to replace the departed Taylor Decker. Free-agent addition Cade Mays will take over for Graham Glasgow at center. The Lions plan to have a training camp competition for the left guard job, where Christian Mahogany returns at starter. And Miller should vie with Larry Borom for the starting job at right tackle.

Tate Ratledge, a second-round pick out of Georgia last year, also returns as a starter at right guard.

Miller said in a conference call Thursday he’s “more than happy to fill in” wherever needed.

“My goal is just to come in and work as hard as I humanly can to be the best player I can humanly be and, at the end of the day, however the cards fall from there, I can live with,” he said.

At Clemson, Miller was one of college football’s top ironmen. He started all 54 games in his four-year career, twice earned first-team All-ACC honors and set a school record for most snaps played from scrimmage (3,778).

Miller said he doesn’t recall missing a game in middle school or high school.

“I honestly don’t know that I’ve missed a game,” he said.

And he takes immense pride in his durability.

“At the end of the day, if I’m able to play, whether it’s through injury or whether I’m blessed enough to be completely healthy, I think I owe it to my teammates to be on the field,” he said. “There’s so many people in any organization that put in so much work, not only just your teammates but also, too, staff, support staff, people behind the scenes. I owe it to them to be available and to pay it forward to them.”

Beyond his college experience, Holmes said, Miller checked “a lot of boxes” the Lions look for in their linemen as a big, tough, smart, high-floor player with plenty of upside.

At 6 feet 7 and 317 pounds, Miller was considered one of the most athletic linemen in the draft; Holmes called him “one of the better run-blocking tackles.”

“He’s been very durable thus far,” Holmes said, knocking on the wooden lectern in front of him. “But look, that’s a big-time program. I mean, they’ve played some big-time football and he’s gone against some really good pass rushers in his career and how he’s held up vs. the pass rushers that he’s faced throughout his career going back to previous year film, it says a lot.

“I’ll tell you what, when you think about Blake Miller, you sleep easy. You sleep very, very good at night, and so that’s what gets us fired up.”

Miller said he met with the Lions in the pre-draft process and felt an connection to the culture. When he talked Thursday, he referenced many of the buzzwords common to the organization – grit, toughness, finishing – and said his favorite part of playing offensive line is “you get to go out there and you get to take someone’s will every play.”

“I love the grit, love the toughness that’s emphasized just kind of outside looking in and I really want to uphold that standard,” he said.

Holmes said the Lions considered trading up in Round 1 around the time three offensive linemen – Utah’s Spencer Fano, Miami (Florida)’s Frances Mauigoa and Alabama’s Kadyn Proctor – came off the board in a four-pick span to the Cleveland Browns (No. 9), New York Giants (No. 10) and Miami Dolphins (No. 12).