Oakland Raiders draft Kolton Miller: Instant grade and analysis

The Oakland Raiders selected Kolton Miller with the No. 15 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Here’s all you need to know about Miller, including our grade.

The Oakland Raiders were originally picking in the top-10 in the 2018 NFL Draft. However, the Silver and Black moved back to No. 15 in a trade with the Arizona Cardinals. Oakland selected UCLA Bruins left tackle Kolton Miller with this selection.

Strengths

Kolton Miller is a big man, and he spent the last season protecting the blindside of one of the more exciting quarterback prospects in this draft class. Moving over to left tackle, Miller earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors, doing a nice job and staying healthy. He plays with incredible passion, and is a guy who should have a long career as a starter in the NFL.

Miller has strong hands, and that enables him to get into the chest of pass rushers. He is also very good against the blitz, showing the ability to move well around the pocket, and pick up those coming from all angles. During his time at UCLA, he displayed solid footwork, which is a testament to how hard he worked in the offseasons.

While Miller moved to the left side last season, starting as a right tackle in the NFL might be the way to go. He has all the size and strength you look for in a tackle, and his sub-5.00 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine really turned some heads.

Next: Check out the NFL Draft results here

Weaknesses

Despite his size, Miller’s game has a lot of holes in it right now. He plays at a high pad level, and often finds himself in a bad situation against fast rushers. At the next level, his height could end up hurting him, as he has yet to hone the skills needed to be a starting left tackle in the NFL.

If Miller can improve his body control, he should be a starter for many years in the NFL. He is an average athlete, but he has the kind of work ethic that coaches love. He has worked his tail off to  get better during his time at UCLA, working his way into being the man responsible for protecting Josh Rosen, the team’s best asset.

If he can work on getting lower, and playing smaller than his 6-foot-9 frame, he should have no problem adjusting to the NFL game. If he plays too tall, he is going to struggle with consistency.

Grade

Left tackle is a need at some point for the Raiders, as Donald Penn is getting up there in age and is coming off injury. Miller could play right tackle. That being said, the Raiders needed to go with a defensive player here and opted not to for some reason.

Grade: C