Raiders Kolton Miller Rising as Derek Carr's Bodyguard
Covering the blindside of the Las Vegas Raiders franchise quarterback Derek Carr assumes great responsibility and skills. And the uprising left tackle Kolton Miller is up for the challenge.
Miller was drafted No. 15 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft out of UCLA.
In his time at UCLA, Miller played both left and right tackle positions. He blocked for star quarterback Josh Rosen, who set numerous single-season freshman school records.
He helped pave the way for running back Paul Perkins, who finished as the third-leading rusher in UCLA history.
Miller entered his rookie season with the Raiders at left tackle, starting all 16 games of the 2018 season.
Miller was the first rookie offensive lineman to start every game for the Raiders since guard Stefen Wisniewski, who accomplished that in 2011.
Miller's first year, he was heavily criticized. He accounted for the most pressures of any tackle and finished the season with eight penalties and 16 sacks allowed, tied for the most sacks allowed for a starting tackle.
In his rookie year, Pro Football Focus gave Miller an overall grade of 49.2, ranking him as one of the worst starting tackles in 2018 and projecting him as a first-round bust.
Not to question his durability, he would play every snap count in 2018, a total of 1,008.
Playing the last 12 games with a knee injury would allow more defenses to pressure him and get to the quarterback.
Miller sustained a Grade II MCL sprain against the Cleveland Browns in Week 4 and aggravated the injury in Week 9 against the San Francisco 49ers.
"He's worked his tail off," Carr said. "I knew that about him all season. When he was playing early in the season, he was locking some people up, and then when he got hurt, he never missed a practice, never missed a rep in practice. If Coach said he had to get out, he said, 'No, Coach, I'm good.' I knew right then and there, this guy is going to do whatever it takes next year to come in and be better. I've seen nothing but that from him – someone that is just gritty."
Last year, he was able to settle down, get healthy, and make significant improvements.
His 6-foot-8 frame and 325 pounds showed players how powerful he was when healthy.
He demonstrated that on the field when the Raiders took on the Denver Broncos on week 1.
"My job is to sack the quarterback, and I didn't get to him once, not even a quarterback hit," said Broncos linebacker Von Miller, former Super Bowl MVP.
Miller's primary responsibility is protecting Carr's blindside, and last year he showed everyone that he could be part of the running game as well, opening lanes for rookie running back Josh Jacobs.
At the end of the 2019 season, Pro Football Focus gave Miller an overall grade of 64.9, which ranked him 23rd out of 37 tackles in the NFL, a vast improvement from his rookie year.
Miller would repeat a milestone of playing every snap last season. A total of 1,019 snaps, and reducing his number of penalties to four and allowing seven sacks.
"We think Kolton Miller is going to be one of the best left tackles in football," Raiders Coach Jon Gruden said. "He's not only healthy, he's in great shape. He's gotten a lot stronger. He's added some weight and some muscle."
Bringing back the entire offensive line for 2020 will help Miller improve and anchor down that starting left tackle position.
The Raiders' offensive line is one of the league's best. It features Pro Bowl right tackle Trent Brown, veteran guards Richie Incognito and Gabe Jackson, and arguably the best center in the league, Rodney Hudson.
Miller will benefit from the continuity of the offensive line, but the entire Raiders offense will do too, starting with Carr.
From the beginning of his career, Miller never had the opportunity to showcase his talent at full strength, better yet healthy.
For those who were calling him a first-round bust, he is starting to show glimpses of becoming an elite left tackle for the years to come.
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