The Raiders have not made many wise selections in Round 1 over the last decade. However, one of the best picks that the Raiders have made over the last five years was picking Kolton Miller in the 2018 NFL draft.
The Raiders moved down from No. 10 to No. 15 and gambled on Miller, who was a complete project coming out of UCLA. That pick got a ton of negative attention at the time, but the Raiders certainly got the last laugh.
In a recent article by Matt Miller of ESPN, he redrafted the 2018 NFL draft and Miller was selected even higher this time around. Instead of going at No. 15, he was picked by the Colts at No. 6. Here is a snippet from ESPN on where Kolton Miller should have been drafted:
Miller has been a rock-solid left tackle, while (Quentin) Nelson struggled in 2022 with injury and regressed play. If given a choice between an All-Pro guard and a top-tier left tackle, I’m taking the tackle every time. Miller has only allowed 46 sacks over 4,933 offensive snaps, and his 93.8% pass-block win rate since 2018 is second in the draft class.
Miller has yet to make a Pro Bowl, but he is widely regarded as one of the top tackles in the NFL. Miller is just 27 years old and has gotten better each year that he’s been in the league.
Looking back at the 2018 draft and it’s pretty clear that the Raiders stole Miller at pick No. 15. The Raiders certainly get a lot of hate for their draft classes, but they hit a home run with Miller.
