Draft Preview- Zach Miller

by Adam T on Feb 14, 2007 12:39 PM CST in News

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While Miami's Greg Olsen is considered the best TE in the draft, Arizona State's Zach Miller is a close second and could also find his way into the first round, potentially with the Bears #31 pick. Some even consider him a better pick then Olsen.

While the 6'5" 259 pound junior is currently #32 on Scout Inc.'s Top 32 list, there are many who believe he is the only first round quality TE in the draft.

The scouting report on Miller is while not as big a receiving threat as Olsen is, he still has soft hands and is very good across the middle.

He is considered a more traditional TE than a lot of players who have come out recently. Miller is considered a very good blocker and has a very good football IQ. Miller is a tough kid who will catch anything thrown is way and will be a big threat once inside the 20.

The knock on Miller is that he doesn't always play as tall as he is and drops his shoulders while running routes. He also relies more on technique than power while blocking. Both should be able to be fixed once in some team's camp.

Mock Drafts That Project Miller To The Bears

Fantasy Football Jungle

The Bears have spent almost 5 years building a defense from the ground up via the draft. Wow how impresive it is. However, this year they take an offensive approach. They will draft Zach Miller. One because a TE is always a safety net for a QB. Two he has great hands and is a big target for Grossman. Three Grossman is much better QB when he looks at the intermediate routes. He can really be a redzone threat. He has great potential.

Football's Future Football Minds NFLDraftMock.com

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Comments

I would be happy with....

Miller or Olsen if the Bears do go in that direction with the first pick.

by RME JICO on Feb 14, 2007 2:17 PM CST reply actions

well..

we do also need 1 or 2 offensive line men...so we might take aaron sears instead...we will c in april...

by get clutch on Feb 14, 2007 2:22 PM CST reply actions

Angelo seems to like picking up OL via

free agency. I would not be surprised if they go Defense in the first or second round. They need help at Linebacker and safety.

by beardown on Feb 14, 2007 9:36 PM CST up reply actions

Zach Miller is unstoppable

on NCAA 2007. Lot of 1-handed catches and 45-yd TD runs. Sick! Just saying.

I remember him being a HUGE TE recruit coming in three years ago. Was supposed to be one of the best in the country.

Personally (and I'm biased), I would like to see them take something else here and pick up Scott Chandler later in the draft. His biggest downfall last year was that his quarterback was incredibly inconsistent. Plus, coming from under Kirk Ferentz, he's made huge strides in his blocking seeing as he came in as a WR. He won't be a superstar by any means, so if that's what you want, certainly not the guy. But I could think he'd be a great value pick on the second day, and even good value in the third.

NFL Draft Countdown has Chandler going to the Bears in the second after Sears in the first. I'd be very pleased with that. Although, if Troy Smith fell to the Bears here, I think it'd be incredibly exciting for him to be taken there.

by tyger1147 on Feb 14, 2007 3:45 PM CST reply actions

Troy Smith?

No thank you!

He will never be a good pro quarterback.

by Chad @ Windy City Gridiron on Feb 14, 2007 4:33 PM CST up reply actions

No, but i could go for...

another Big 10 star, Penn State's Paul Posluszny. I'm a Penn State grad student, so i'm biased, but i think a LB crew of Poz, Urlacher, and Briggs would be unbelievable.

This is no knock on Hunter Hillenmeyer, who i think is underrated. Rather, its just the biased opinion of a Bears/Nittany Lion fan.

by Shawn Domagal-Goldman on Feb 14, 2007 4:39 PM CST up reply actions

If I remember correctly,

That guy is a total ass kicker. AJ Hawk style, no?

How about James Laurenitis (spelling has to be wrong on that one)

by Chad @ Windy City Gridiron on Feb 14, 2007 4:52 PM CST up reply actions

That's fine.

Give him a year to figure that out. Then put him somewhere where he can be effective.

by tyger1147 on Feb 14, 2007 6:09 PM CST up reply actions

According to your posts...

i think Miller is a better fit for what the Bears do than Olsen is. They seem to prefer to get receivers and tight ends that can support the run game. It seems that Miller is the better blocker, so that's who i think the Bears will pick if they go with a TE.

by Shawn Domagal-Goldman on Feb 14, 2007 4:37 PM CST reply actions