The Raiders have not had a ton of success in the first round over the last decade. But one of the picks that has worked out has been the selection of Kolton Miller in the 2018 NFL Draft.
The Raiders were mocked by the media for the selection as many believed they reached at No. 15. But looking back at that draft, Miller was one of the best picks in the entire round as he’s turned himself into a franchise left tackle.
But where does he rank among his peers at the position? In a recent article by ESPN, they polled over 50 NFL executives and coaches and had them rank the top ten players at each position.
The Raiders were represented on the list as Miller came in at No. 10. Here is a snippet of what the site had to say about the former first-round pick from UCLA:
Miller never got much top-10 traction in past years but received significant votes after a strong 2022 campaign. Known more for his pass blocking, he led this year’s group in run block win rate (81.7%), helping spring running back Josh Jacobs for 1,653 yards.
Miller has improved in every season with the Raiders. And as Jeremy Fowler mentioned, his run blocking has improved a ton over the last few years. Miller is still just 27 years old and he is the anchor of the offensive line for the Raiders.
While he has yet to make the Pro Bowl in each of his first five years in the NFL, he’s now widely regarded as one of the best offensive tackles in the world. That type of praise from your peers and NFL front office members matters much more anyways.
