As the Lions made their picks from the 2026 NFL draft, there was a special player among them in Clemson's Blake Miller who caught the eye of the veteran analyst Mel Kiper.

As a keen observer of the game, Kiper saw the pros of drafting Blake Miller to the Detroit Lions. He noted that the first-round pick could improve the team. Losing Taylor Decker left a gap in the Lions' offense, which the team will likely bridge using Miller as a tackle.

"It’s tough to beat Miller, no matter the pass-rush move. His pressure allowed rate improved every single season, from 4.0% as a rookie to 1.8% last season. That’s key for the Lions; Jared Goff has real problems when he’s seeing constant pressure," said Kiper on how he sees things lining up in the Lions.

He also believes that Miller could turn out to be Jahmyr Gibbs' “new best friend” by improving run blocking and opening lanes for explosive plays.

Kiper Jr. took into account Miller's proven track record in pass protection and ability to go downfield. He remarked that if the Miller and Gibbs choose to operate in tandem, it would invariably benefit the latter, who himself thrives on space and breakaway runs.

The Lions have come out quite well after the NFL drafts with some exciting new additions and the future looks promising but coach Brad Holmes isn't done yet arranging his team.

Brad Holmes Is Looking For More Free Agents To Solidify His Roster

The Lions have made multiple picks so far in the NFL draft. But GM Brad Holmes is still looking to make room to accommodate more free agents. In an interview with Fox Sports, Holmes revealed that he was excited to be on the lookout for players who get invited to minicamps but might not get signed.

"You know, is there any guy that are still out there? There might be some guys that got invited to minicamps that might not get signed, and we might have another spot left, [so] we can sign. You never know what's going to come across the waiver. We've already kind of identified guys already like veteran free agents so I'm really excited about next week," said Holmes.

As of now, there is news of ten to twelve confirmed signings, including QB Luke Altmyer, OG Melvin Priestly, CB Aamaris Brown, TE Miles Kitselman, DL Aidan Keanaaina, DL Eric O’Neill, CB De’Shawn Rucker, and LB Erick Hunter. But Holmes believes there is still room for more.

Detroit currently has sixteen open spots on its 90-man offseason roster, so UDFAs slots haven't been filled up yet. Looking back at history, the Lions have had at least one UDFA make the 53-man roster in fifteen of the last sixteen seasons.

It is yet to be finalized just how many more players Detroit is looking to sign. But rest assured that a few more will surely have the Lions' name emblazoned across their jerseys in the coming few weeks.

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Written by

Sourav Ganguly