Scouting Miles Killebrew

Former NFL scout Daniel Kelly provides his scouting report on Lions special teams ace Miles Killebrew

Miles Killebrew is one of the unsung heroes of the Detroit Lions. 

He is one of those guys you maybe do not hear much about, but he is a blue-chip special teams player. 

He is one of those guys in the shadows who serves as the glue on the Lions. 

Guys like him are great for the chemistry and great for the morale of the team. He shows fire. He shows visible emotion. He is a baller. 

As the old saying goes, “Offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships,” which leaves special teams as a distant afterthought to a lot of fans and front office executives in the NFL. 

I grew up with the importance of special teams being engrained in me while watching the old “SSD SEARCH, SEEK AND DESTROY, SPECIAL TEAMS IN DC” banner waving in the wind mystically at R.F.K. Stadium. It was an old bed sheet flapping around, and it served as a reminder of Washington’s backbone during its championship years. 

I grew up watching unheralded players like Ravin Caldwell and Reggie Branch deliver bone-crushing hits on the opening kickoff, which sent the crowd into an absolute frenzy, with the defense easily feeding off of it. 

I fully understand the importance of special teams. And that is why I have such an appreciation for Killebrew. 

He is what is referred to as a “core special teams” player and a guy who can play on the four main units -- kickoff, kickoff return, punt and punt return. 

Not only can he play on all four of them, but he is elite on all four. 

There is not a lot of guys like him who excel on every unit. 

There is a completely different skill set required to play on the kicking teams than on the return teams. But, his heart and desire carry him on all four. 

He is a gamer and a baller on special teams -- most recently displaying it with his big blocked punt against Indianapolis last week when he ripped through the middle.

You see, most guys that play on special teams in the NFL are backups -- often stiff backups who really don’t look like they even want to be playing on special teams. 

Most are waiting for their supposed big chance to start and to make a big contract. 

And it shows up on film against every team in the league, every single week. 

A majority of special teams players in NFL are just plain soft. 

But, not Killebrew.

Isaiah J. Downing, USA TODAY Sports

Killebrew has the heart and desire it takes. And it shows consistently. 

He also has above-average athletic ability and playing speed. 

This season, Killebrew, No. 35, has again shown up on special teams, specifically against Indianapolis, Jacksonville, New Orleans and Arizona. 

Killebrew naturally hunts and tracks the ball down well on kickoff coverage, and he is consistently a very solid, hard and a fundamentally sound tackler.

He is a sure tackler. He reminds me of a hunting dog. He effortlessly flows to the action. He funnels toward it. 

He is also very good and very physical at blocking from his wing position on the punt team. 

He will put his man on the ground, and is an excellent blocker. 

I also watched him extensively in 2019, and I went back and watched all of his plays from the time he came to the Lions in 2016 as a fourth-round pick out of Utah. 

He has not gotten much of a chance on defense. But, when he has been out there, he's made the most of every opportunity and has made a good number of plays. 

The Lions flirted with the idea of making him an outside linebacker. 

And to this day, I would highly recommend putting him down by the box in a three-safety defense, especially on run downs. 

He has seen some reps down in the box in previous preseasons and some work at safety, too. 

Also, he played some on defense during the 2016 and 2017 regular seasons. 

He just has a great nose for play flow and for the ball carrier. 

Lions head coach Matt Patricia has got to find a way to get a guy like this onto the field on defense now, even though he is not one of “their guys.” 

The reality is that Killebrew shows way more desire than any safety on this roster. 

I would love to see him get a chance to start. 

Despite the limited reps on defense overall, I would give him a “B” grade for his play at safety, from what I have seen since he came into the league. 

He reminds me a lot of former NFL safety Brad Edwards, who played on the Vikings and starred on Washington’s Super Bowl XXVI team. He was the MVP runner-up to quarterback Mark Rypien in that game.

Last season, this is what I wrote up about Killebrew on all four units. 

Scouting Report 

Overall special teams grade: A (Blue-chip player and elite on all four units)

Kickoff: Flies in from the side. Sometimes, screened or blocked out. Works to quickly beat blocks. Hit a kick returner so hard against PHI that it knocked the player's helmet off. Had some wow moments. Productive. Made tackles. He’s a force on this unit.

Kickoff return: Blocked aggressively. Pushed out. Wanted it. Wanted to block. Strong effort.

Punt: Held up against strong rush. Weaved in. Came down and tackled hard. Has an aggressive feel to him. Fought through blocks. Got in the tackle pile. 

Punt return: Blocked at the line. Screened. Ran with his guy. Good speed to get downfield. Pushed from the side. Stayed with it. Gave effort. Extremely aggressive. Active. Blocked some downfield. Solid.

Killebrew is underappreciated, but he is extremely important. 

Guys like him help control the field position and put the guys on offense and defense in better position, with a better chance mathematically to succeed. 

If I was a GM, guys like him would be on my list to go and get. He would start on my team.

Keep an eye out for No. 35 - - opponents sure already do.

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