The Steelers are no strangers to drafting offensive linemen in the first round. In 2023, they traded up a couple of spots to draft Broderick Jones 14th overall. The following year, Pittsburgh took Troy Fautanu 20th overall. Now in 2026, CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli thinks Pittsburgh could draft a first-round offensive tackle for the third time in four years. This time, he has Blake Miller out of Clemson.
“I knew he was athletic based on what I’d seen on tape. Did not expect him to have the kind of performance he did at the combine. This is another one where you put that athleticism with that frame,” Fornelli said Wednesday on CBS Sports’ With The First Pick show. “There’s not a lot of super high ceilings at the tackle position in this draft. Miller has one of them… Getting a guy like this who could be your left tackle for years to come, this late in the first round, why not take a shot on it?”
The combine numbers Fornelli mentions were impressive for Miller. He ran a 5.04-second 40-yard dash, with a 10-yard split of 1.75 seconds. His strength showed itself with 32 reps on the bench press, and he also had a vertical jump of 32 inches.
It was an impressive showing for Miller, which has helped boost his draft stock recently. At the beginning of the draft cycle, Miller seemed to have the stock of a mid-second-round pick. But that’s changed recently, helped by the athleticism he showed at the combine. Miller now projects as at least an early second-rounder, and could go towards the end of the first round. He’s now evidently coming into the conversation at the 21st overall pick.
That athleticism is a big part of what Blake Miller brings to the table. He moves well for the position and uses his quick hands to consistently take advantage of defenders at the point of attack. He can get depth quickly enough against faster pass rushers and can really move when pulling or getting a chance to block in space.
However, there are some kinks for Miller to work out at the next level. While he has the strength to win at the point of attack, he occasionally plays with too high a pad level. This causes him to lose his leverage at times. It also makes it harder for him to stick to blocks when defenders use a counter move.
Tackle also isn’t a major need for the Steelers, at least right now. Troy Fautanu has things shored up on the right side. Broderick Jones’ injury does complicate things on the left. But Dylan Cook proved to be an excellent security blanket last year. At the very least, the Steelers should feel relatively confident if Cook and Fautanu have to start in 2026.
However, the Steelers have shored up some other needs. They’ve added to the secondary a few times and brought in a WR2 in Michael Pittman Jr. They need to fill the hole at left guard after losing Isaac Seumalo. But there’s still plenty of time until the draft comes around. If those positions don’t look like as big of needs come draft day, maybe Blake Miller is a name to keep an eye on in the first round.
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