Overview
Position: Offensive Tackle
Height: 6’8″ 5/8
Weight: 310 pounds
School: UCLA Bruins
Combine Performance Data
40-yard dash: 4.95 seconds (third among offensive linemen)
Bench press: 24 reps
Vertical jump: 31.5 inches (tied for fourth among offensive linemen)
Broad jump: 10 feet, 1 inch (best among offensive linemen)
Three-cone drill: 7.34 seconds (third among offensive linemen)
20-yard shuttle: 4.49 seconds (third among offensive linemen)
Kolton Miller 2018 NFL Draft Profile
The best thing you can put next to Kolton Miller’s name is a question mark. Miller is truly an enigma to those who have watched him the last three years. He is an impressive physical specimen with his size and length. He moved from right tackle to left tackle in 2017. Yet, having seen every snap he has taken over the last three years on film and in live action, it is not uncommon to see Miller get beat by defensive linemen with better technique. His raw physical ability has not always been enough to overcome what has sometimes been a deficiency in necessary skills.
Miller was a four-star recruit out of Roseville, CA. He redshirted his freshman year in 2014. He played five games at right tackle in both 2015 and 2016 before injuries shortened his season. Miller played all 13 games at left tackle in his redshirt junior season of 2017 earning Second Team All Pac 12 honors.
It would be unfair to hold him responsible for all the scrambling UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen had to do the last couple of years. But watch the film from last season, and the rush coming from the left side was undeniable. Yet from the time he announced he would forgo his senior season, Miller has been forecast as a second-round pick at worst and a potential first-round pick at best. The scouts have seen something in him that UCLA fans were not getting. He gave them more to talk about with an eye-opening performance at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.
Strengths
- Good size/body proportion;
- Very athletic for a lineman. Ran a 4.91 40-yard dash at the combine and had a 10’1” broad jump;
- Good upper body power;
- Strong work ethic;
- Powerful hands.
Weaknesses
- Plays with a high pad level;
- Trouble with speed rushers;
- Tends to get off balance when trying to block speed rushers;
- Lateral movement is not very quick;
- Defenders get into his body space too easily, thus controlling the matchup.
NFL Comparison: Eric Fisher
Teams with Need At The Position: Philadelphia Eagles, Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, New York Jets, Indianapolis Colts. Denver Broncos, New England Patriots
Projection: Mid second round
Bottom Line
It is a deep draft for offensive linemen, so this is a pick for a team based on Miller’s potential. We purposely did not list him as a left tackle because his chances of going in the mid second round, or earlier, are based on his ability to play right tackle sooner and perhaps learn better left tackle technique down the road. While he has 13 games of experience at left tackle, and 10 at right tackle, his left tackle performance is not going to make him a high draft pick.
His body frame, physical ability, and what he showed at the Combine will improve his status. His game film over three years shows a bit of an up and down ride, so a team is going to draft him with the confidence their offensive line coach can take the time the mold the high-end clay into what they need two to three years down the road.
