Round 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft is in the books, which means it’s time for every draft analyst to firmly declare who “won” and “lost” the draft and hand out grades for each pick.
Our own Ryan Mathews provided his detailed analysis and opinion of the Detroit Lions’ selection of Blake Miller here, but for this post, let’s scan the landscape and see what other experts are saying.
The Lions were largely praised for addressing what many believed to be their biggest need. However, there was certainly some disagreement about the player they picked. In Wide Left’s consensus big board, Miller ranked 31st, making this a mild reach at the 17th overall pick. And with Georgia tackle Monroe Freeling on the board, it’s clear some experts believe he should’ve been the pick.
However, as many experts below noted, Miller fits particularly well with the Lions’ culture, scheme, and his perceived lack of positional versatility is not a problem with a chess piece like Penei Sewell already in house.
But enough of my yapping. Here’s a look at the grades the Lions got both nationally and locally, listed in order from highest grade to lowest.
Detroit Lions draft grades: 1st round pick OT Blake Miller
NFL.com (Chad Reuter): A
Sports Illustrated (Matt Verderame): A-
NY Post (Ryan Dunleavy): B+
The Athletic (Nick Baumgardner, Scott Dochterman): B+
Fox Sports (Rob Rang): B+
Yahoo Sports (Charles McDonald): B
USA Today (Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz): B
SB Nation (Ben Schofield): B
PFF (Ben Linsey): Good
Note: PFF’s “grades” are elite, very good, good, average, and poor
The Ringer (Danny Kelly): C+
Althon Sports (Luke Easterling): C+
Local writers grades
The Detroit News (Rich Silva): A
Pride of Detroit (Ryan Mathews): A
Sports Illustrated (Christian Booher): A-
Pride of Detroit readers:
• 72% A
• 22% B
• 4% C
• 2% D
• 1% F
Detroit Free Press (Shawn Windsor): B
