The Detroit Lions added to their offensive line in the opening round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night, adding Clemson offensive tackle Blake Miller. Miller’s selection was somewhat surprising considering Lions fans were locked in on the possibility of Alabama’s Kadyn Proctor or Georgia’s Monroe Freeling being the pick, but it also was expected with the Lions’ priority of building the trenches this offseason.
While the Lions released Taylor Decker, they intend to move Penei Sewell to the left tackle spot to replace him and added Larry Borom in free agency. Adding Miller gives Detroit a potential starting right tackle for the future but it may come at the expense of someone else’s roster spot.
There’s a good chance that player is Giovanni Manu. Selected in the fourth round during the 2024 draft, Manu has been in the background for his first two seasons in the NFL and Miller’s arrival could foreshadow his departure as Detroit turns its attention to the offseason program and training camp.
Giovanni Manu’s Time in Detroit Is Almost Over After Lions Draft Blake Miller
Manu was always going to be a project coming out of the University of British Columbia, but the Lions probably wanted a bigger return on their investment early in his career. After “redshirting” and failing to appear in a regular season game on the active roster last season, Manu finally got his chance making his first career start in place of Decker in a Week 5 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. But that performance also didn’t go as planned as Manu allowed two sacks on 28 pass-blocking snaps per Pro Football Focus before suffering a knee injury.
The injury threw another wrench in Manu’s development as he went on to injured reserve. While he had his 21-day practice window opened to return, he was never activated and had Dan Campbell praying to the football gods to receive reps.
“I think for Gio, he needs reps,” Campbell said via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press in December. “Practice reps, get out there against our defense in real-time practice. It’s not a ton of them, and it’s not like training camp, but God he just needs reps, man. He cannot get enough reps, and if we’re able to use him or there’s something there this year, that’s a bonus. Will this set him up better for next year? Training camp going into that next year? That’s really it.”
After Miller’s arrival, it’s hard to see where Manu can get those reps. While he’s currently slated as a backup to Sewell at left tackle, Borom or Miller will likely be the first in line to step in over Manu if something happened to Sewell. The Lions may also prefer to keep some additional interior depth with questions about Christian Mahogany and Miles Frazier at left guard and the numbers game could do Manu in.
Manu also turned 25 in January, which makes him ineligible for the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program. This is significant as he did not count towards a roster spot during the offseason or on the practice squad as part of the program, but now he will count towards both, giving the Lions another decision to make.
Detroit will likely hang onto Manu throughout the offseason with hopes that he can claim a depth role. But the hope for anything more has been dashed and by adding Miller, it could be the move that throws in the towel on Manu’s time with the Lions.
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