This post is Part Seven of a series counting down the 10 most important Las Vegas Raiders players under contract for next season (not including Derek Carr). Guys set to be free agents (Josh Jacobs, Jarrett Stidham, etc.) aren’t included here. Click here for Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five and Part Six of this series.
No. 4: Kolton Miller
We all know the jokes about the Raiders and the draft, okay — and specifically the ones about first-round picks. We’ve heard them all. Yes, yes, Mike Mayock was really bad at drafting! And Jon Gruden was, uh, misguided at best.
But Kolton Miller!
In 2016 and 2017 it was Karl Joseph and Gareon Conley. In 2019 it was Clelin Ferrell, Jonathan Abram and Josh Jacobs. 2020 was Henry Ruggs and Damon Arnette. 2021 was Alex Leatherwood. And in 2022 they didn’t have a first-rounder.
Honestly, that’s an impressive track record of incompetence if you think about it. Nine first-round picks and just two guys that you feel good about — Miller (2018) and Jacobs — alongside a whole bunch of guys who didn’t even develop into rotational NFL guys for one reason or another.
But this piece isn’t about them (Miller is the only guy listed above who is under contract for next season, having received an extension that kicks in the beginning of this season) — it’s about the franchise left tackle the Raiders did find!
Heading into the final stretch of the season, PFF had this to say about Miller: “Miller’s development over the past few years has been incredible. He was about as raw as it gets coming out of UCLA in 2018, yet he’s developed into one of the best overall tackles. The Raiders rarely help him out of the left side, and he has allowed just three quarterback hits all season long.”
At the time, they had him ranked as the No. 9 tackle in the league — ahead of guys like David Bakhtiari, Penei Sewell and others.
2022 Stats: 16 games, 4 sacks allowed, 5 penalties
2023 Outlook
The fact that Miller graded out as well as he did given the level of talent around him last season is honestly astonishing. You could make an argument that not only did he not get much help (as mentioned above), but that he was the only above-average guy on the Raiders’ offensive line at any point last season.
With a new quarterback incoming next season, knowing that the left tackle position is locked down for the foreseeable future is a massive win for a franchise desperately in need of them.
