When the Oakland Raiders drafted Kolton Miller in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, fans thought it was a reach, but he was always “the guy.”
During the 2018 NFL Draft, when the Raiders made Kolton Miller the No. 15 overall pick in the first round, fans thought it was a bit of a reach. Even though Mel Kiper Jr. had predicted the Patriots would take him with the 23rd pick, making him a clear first rounder, to pick him eight slots earlier was a bit of a head-scratcher for many experts, and fans.
Some people even mocked the pick, claiming a coin toss was the reason as to why the Raiders ended up with Miller, over the offensive tackle they really wanted, San Francisco’s right tackle Mike McGlinchey.
Although they were only rumors that were immediately shot down by the Raiders coaching staff, people still didn’t want to believe it.
After the first round, Vic Tafur from The Athletic tweeted this out.
The #Raiders wanted a tackle. They were going to draft McGlinchey and when he was gone, they would have taken Miller 10th if no trade down, as @MikeSilver just said
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) April 27, 2018
Of course, why would they? You don’t want to draft a player, and then offend them by saying they only got picked because the better offensive tackle got drafted first. The 2018 NFL Draft was filled with surprises for the Raiders, who traded picks, went up and down in certain rounds, and came away with a nice haul overall.
I still hear people say the same thing today, because it’s not like there was proof Kolton Miller was the Raiders guy. That is until Osemele went on The Lefkoe Show on Wednesday:
"I remember Cable sat me down and was like “Yeah, we’re going to take this guard if Indianapolis doesn’t take him, Quentin Nelson, how do you feel about moving to tackle?‘If we can’t get him we’re going to get Kolton Miller. I just want to be upfront and honest with you’ which I respect him for that.I respect that, he kept it real. He did. He kept it real. It’s like, hey man we’re trying to make these moves."
All rumors should be over now. Tom Cable had told Osemele prior to the draft that they would take either Quinton Nelson, or Kolton Miller. Of course, Nelson ended up having a Pro Bowl season for the Indianapolis Colts, and Miller had to battle through a bunch of injuries after winning the Raiders left tackle job out of the preseason.
McGlinchey is a solid player, but he was never the Raiders guy, it was always Miller.
As Miller heads into year No. 2 in the Silver and Black, he is going to remain at left tackle, even though the Raiders brought in New England Patriots left tackle Trent Brown this offseason. When healthy, Miller certainly proved that he was good enough to be a starting left tackle at the NFL level, and he will get to prove that again this summer.