How Clemson Tigers Replace Blake Miller After Being Drafted by Detroit Lions

The Clemson Tigers saw their first player be selected in the 2026 NFL Draft, with right tackle Blake Miller being drafted by the Detroit Lions with the 17th pick.

While the Lions gets an iron man on the offensive line, the Tigers will now have big shoes to fill without Miller, who never missed a start in his four seasons with Clemson.

A Tiger joins the pride.

Blake Miller, welcome to the Detroit @Lions!#ALLIN | #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/Hok0b2D5gH
— Clemson Football (@ClemsonFB) April 24, 2026

The Strongsville, Ohio, native arrived at the program with high expectations. Miller was the No. 12 offensive tackle in the cycle, according to Rivals. Other outlets had him as high as the No. 8 tackle in the class of 2022, being one of the most coveted players in the class in the trenches.

That’s exactly how he panned out with the Tigers across his four seasons with the program.

He started in all 54 games that Clemson had across his career, playing in 3,778 offensive snaps. That is now a program record for the Tigers. Miller was the first player to start in every game as an offensive lineman since the 1994-97 seasons.

A Freshman All-American in 2022, Miller followed that first season with two first-team All-ACC honors in 2024-25 and a third-team All-ACC selection in 2023. When Clemson won the ACC Championship and went to the College Football Playoff in 2024, Miller saw All-American honorable mention honors as well.

Not to mention he won two ACC Championships under head coach Dabo Swinney as well.

The next man up has important shoes to fill, filling the role of Clemson’s first offensive lineman to be drafted within the first round of the NFL Draft in school history. However, offensive line coach Matt Luke has some talent that might not be exactly Miller, but has the quality to be a great tackle.

Two players have stood out at right tackle over this process, especially during Clemson’s spring game a month ago. The competition should come down to redshirt sophomore Mason Wade and redshirt freshman Easton Ware.

Wade only saw 21 snaps at right tackle, mainly because of Miller’s impressive ability to remain on the field. However, he was behind him in the depth chart for a majority of the year, being the backup in Clemson’s Pinstripe Bowl loss to Penn State to end the 2025 season.

On the other hand, Ware missed all of last season with season-ending shoulder surgery to open the year. Despite this, he was the first right tackle out of the huddle in the spring game and saw plenty of first-team reps on the line throughout the Tigers’ spring practices.

Nobody has been talking about him either, despite being a four-star recruit throughout the process. During 2024 Signing Day, Swinney spoke about the potential Ware has after he brought Luke to watch him in a game.

"Matt’s exact words were 'Coach, this might be the most under-recruited guy in the country,” Swinney said in December 2024.

It’s expected that one of those two should be the starter come Week 1, and a long summer ahead has the competition still undecided. There are plenty of other pieces who could play a role in that position as well, however.

Clemson brought in Adam Guthrie from this year’s recruiting class. Although he hasn’t arrived on campus, if there’s any player who could follow the same path as Miller, it’s the top 40 offensive tackle.

Four interior offensive linemen were also brought in for the Tigers, and knowing Swinney’s track record with cross-training these players, don’t be surprised if any of the other true freshmen see time on the line as well.

Miller’s departure is difficult, due to his consistency and role as an anchor on Clemson’s offensive line over the last four years. However, the Tigers should have the depth to be able to find a piece that could help keep the program’s trenches durable for seasons to come.

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