Image 1: OT Blake Miller (78) mirroring EDGE Trey Moore (8) in pass protection
Height: 6’6
Weight: 314
Position: OT
Year: Senior
Background
Image 2: OT Blake Miller (76) in his senior year of High School at Strongsville High School
Born on February 25th, 2004, Blake Miller was a Three-Star OT prospect in the class of 2022 coming out of Strongsville High School in Strongsville, Ohio. Despite being not being in the top 200 nationally, Miller’s developed 6’6 315 frame as a high schooler drew attention from major programs like Ohio State, Michigan, and Clemson. Though many expected the Ohio native and childhood Buckeyes fan to commit to Ohio State, Miller would decide to commit to Clemson.
As a Tiger, Miller made an immediate impact as a true Freshman by winning the starting Right Tackle job in camp (he is one of four true Freshman offensive linemen to win a starting job at Clemson since 1972). Miller would start all 14 games that season and would be named a Freshman All-American. In the next two seasons, Miller would continue to chain together quality starts and become a 2023 Third Team All-ACC and 2024 First Team All-ACC selection. Though draft-eligible last year, Miller decided to come back to school for his senior season to raise his draft stock and hopefully win a national championship. Miller enters his senior season with nearly 3000 snaps and 41 starts. No matter the outcome of his NFL career, Miller is one of the greatest Tigers in program history.
Athletic Tools
With a measured 6’6 314 frame with 35-inch arms, Miller exceeds every measurement threshold that teams have for OT prospects. Beyond having great length and size, Miller is a fantastic movement athlete who flashes great fluidity, quickness, and explosiveness. In pass protection, Miller utilizes his athletic tools to gain depth in his kick slide and mirror effectively. In the run game, Miller’s athleticism is an asset when he climbs to the second level on combo blocks and reach blocks on wide zone. Though he was not asked to do this much during his time at Clemson, Miller’s athleticism and size should allow him to be an asset when pulling blocks for a scheme that wants its OTs to block in space.
Video 1: OT Blake Miller (RT 78) using his length and foot speed to prevent EDGE Jack Pyburn (44) from beating him around the corner
Video 2: OT Blake Miller (RT 78) using his quickness to pick up DT Gabriel Reliford (19) while looping on a stunt
Video 3: OT Blake Miller (RT 78) using an outside hand strike to knock back LB Chaz Chamblis (32) and using his quickness to mirror around the corner
Video 4: OT Blake Miller (RT 78) using his fluidity, quickness, and speed to climb after executing a combo block on DT Jared Harrison-Hunte (81)
Video 5: OT Blake Miller (RT 78) using his speed and explosiveness to reach block DB Dan Jackson (17) on a wide-zone run concept
Video 6: OT Blake Miller (RT 78) flashing his speed and fluidity in space when pulling in the run game
Though he has exceptional tools from a frame and movement perspective, Miller’s greatest issue is his overall lack of play strength in his anchor and upper body. Despite having great positional size, Miller struggles to anchor against power-based pass rush plans due to him having poor core strength and playing underweight for the 2024 season. Beyond lacking an effective anchor, Miller has poor grip strength and hand heaviness. Due to Miller’s poor upper-body strength, stronger defenders easily disengage from his blocks and are unbothered by Miller’s strikes.
Video 7: OT Blake Miller (RT 78) fires an early and high outside hand strike that lacks the power to affect EDGE/LB Jalon Walker’s (11) pass rush angle
Video 8: OT Blake Miller (RT 78) flashes his outside hand to bait a club move and gives up a pressure against the long arm from EDGE Ashton Gillotte (9)
Video 9: OT Blake Miller (RT 78) lacking the grip strength to maintain his block on LB Damon Wilson II (10)
Technicals
To mitigate his lack of strength in his strikes, Miller has very quick, active hands that he uses to strike with good placement and timing. Though he has a tendency to miss high and/or strike early, Miller is effective in resetting his hands to recover when he gets into a poor position. Beyond his strikes, Miller has solid lower body fundamentals with effective footwork and consistent stride length to get depth while avoiding over-setting.
Video 10: OT Blake Miller (RT 78) utilizes a two-hand strike that hits high, but stalls out EDGE Mykel Williams (13)
Video 11: OT Blake Miller (RT 78) throws an accurate outside hand strike to remove LB Chaz Chambliss (32) from the play
Video 12: OT Blake Miller (RT 78) effectively resets his hands to counter the swipe move from EDGE Mykel Williams (13)
Another major way Miller makes up for his lack of strength is his great understanding of leverage. Though he does get pushed back when players challenge his anchor, Miller does a great job of resetting his feet and sinking his hips to regain ground to prevent a sack/QB hit. Beyond assisting him when recovering in pass pro, Miller’s leverage allows him to be a major asset in the run game. By getting under defenders’ pads and playing with great effort, Miller moves defenders with ease and is great at opening up holes for Clemson’s gap-heavy run game.
Video 13: OT Blake Miller (RT 78) loses ground from EDGE Patrick Payton’s (6) speed-to-power, then recovers by sinking his hips and resetting his feet
Video 14: OT Blake Miller (RT 78) executing a down block with great leverage to remove EDGE Jimari Butler (12) from the play
Video 15: OT Blake Miller (RT 78) creating a cutback lane when base blocking DT Jacobian Gillory II (90) by winning the leverage battle and keeping his feet churning
In terms of technical deficiency, Miller needs to improve his reliability picking up stunts and blitzes. Despite being a veteran college player, Miller has low moments where he lets up free rushers due to not communicating with his guard and having mental errors when accounting for the called protection compared to the defensive front. Though this is a fixable coaching issue, Miller will need to improve this with the NFL being rampant with creative minds that utilize exotic or disguised looks for their schemed pass rush.
Video 16: OT Blake Miller (RT 78) has a miscommunication with the OG Walker Parks (RG 55) that lets up a free rusher on the E/T stunt
Video 17: OT Blake Miller (RT 78) having a mental mistake when picking up the blitzing LB and letting EDGE Patrick Payton (6) have a free rush lane to the QB
Draft Projection
Blake Miller currently has a second round grade, but his athletic profile and recent weight gain could have a bullish front office pull the trigger in the first round if they believe that Miller can improve his play strength and strike placement in the league. Miller’s lack of strength may lead to issues if asked to play early on, but his combination of athleticism, technique, and nastiness makes me confident in his ability to eventually develop into a starting-caliber offensive lineman as he continues to fill out his frame.
Athletic Testing
Will be updated after the NFL Combine/Clemson Pro Day
Pro Comparison
Image 3: OT Braxton Jones (70) blocking EDGE Will Anderson Jr (51)
Though the former Thunderbird played a much different level of competition in college, Braxton Jones reminds me a lot of Blake Miller. A 6’5 310 high-end athlete with elite positional length, Jones has great athletic tools that let him get depth easily as a pass protector and block on the move in the run game. Like Miller, Jones is a poor strength athlete who struggles to anchor against power-based pass rush plans but uses his active hands, footwork, and leverage to lose gracefully when getting rushed with power. Jones is somewhat of an infamous among Chicago fans due to his notable lowlights, but his combination of athleticism, technique, and length is a big reason why Jones has been a solid starter during his tenure with the Chicago Bears.
Date Published: 9/16/2025
Date Last Updated: 9/16/2025