Blake Miller
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Clemson offensive tackle Blake Miller.
Few NFL insiders have the kind of expertise NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein brings to the table, and he’s using that inside information to predict the Philadelphia Eagles will make a move in the 1st round to replace a franchise legend.
With perennial NFL All-Pro offensive tackle and 2-time Super Bowl champion Lane Johnson seemingly headed into his final season in 2026, Zierlein predicts the Eagles will use the No. 23 overall pick in the 1st round on 6-foot-7, 317-pound Clemson offensive tackle Blake Miller.
“Miller is an athletic, long-armed career right tackle with more game experience than any tackle in this draft,” Zierlein wrote in his latest mock draft. “He feels like an eventual natural replacement for Lane Johnson on the right side.”
Johnson, 6-foot-6 and 325 pounds, will turn 36 years old in May. He is a 5-time NFL All-Pro and 2-time Super Bowl champion with $163.4 million in career earnings and about to play his 14th NFL season.
It would be the 1st time the Eagles have drafted an offensive player in the 1st round since wide receiver DeVonta Smith at No. 10 overall in 2021, and the 1st time they’ve drafted an offensive lineman in the 1st round since offensive tackle Andre Dillard at No. 22 overall in 2019.
Dillard made 9 starts in 3 seasons for the Eagles and never developed into a full-time starter.
How Blake Miller Became Elite NFL Prospect
Miller, an Ohio native, became a 4-year starter at Clemson, where he was the first full-time freshman starter on the offensive line since 1972 and ended his career as a 3-time All-ACC selection.
“Ultimate iron man at right tackle with 54 career starts,” Zierlein wrote in his pre-draft evaluation. “Miller has unusual lateral quickness and fluidity in space despite playing too upright. His hands lack accuracy and command in both phases, but he can recover and make blocks with a finisher’s mindset. Miller is rarely beaten by rush games, but he has his edges attacked because of his hand issues. He will encounter difficulties at the next level without better pad level, core strength and cleaner technique. If he tightens up in those areas, Miller can become a solid NFL right tackle.”
Johnson was also a 1st round pick, going No. 4 overall to the Eagles out of Oklahoma in the 2013 NFL draft.
Multiple Outlets Predict Eagles Draft Blake Miller
USA Today’s post-free agency mock draft also has the Eagles taking Miller in the 1st round — hardly a surprise after Johnson spent the first few months of the offseason with his future up in the air.
From USA Today: “The All-ACC right tackle might be too good to pass up — especially for lineman lover Howie Roseman — given Lane Johnson is in year-to-year mode and missed Philly’s final eight games, including the playoffs, last season.”
Johnson missed the final 7 games of the regular season and the NFC Wild Card loss to the San Francisco 49ers with a Lisfranc injury to his foot. That, along with the retirement of legendary offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland, seemed to be pushing Johnson toward hanging up his cleats.