The New York Giants were active throughout free agency, however there were a couple areas of the roster that they didn’t shore up heading into the 2026 NFL Draft.
In fact, one of the biggest areas of preceived need among fans the media, the interior defensive line, was untouched through the first two waves of free agency.
That could put a player like Georgia’s Christen Miller higher on the Giants’ radar than his national profile could suggest.
The 2026 NFL Draft isn’t considered to be a strong one at defensive tackle, and there may only be one drafted by the end of the first round. However, there are still players like Miller who have talent and could be useful role players at a solid value.
Prospect: Christen Miller (52)
Games Watched: vs. Alabama (2025), vs. Ole Miss (2025), vs. Texas (2025), vs. Georgia Tech (2025)
Red Flags:
Measurables
Strengths
Best traits
- Play strength
- Initial quickness
- Agility
- Play strength
- Run defense
- Technique
Christen Miller is a big, powerful, and tough defensive tackle prospect. Miller has excellent size at 6-foot 3 ¼ inches, 321 pounds, with 33-inch arms and big 10-inch hands.
Miller plays with all the power you’d expect from his frame, and excels at controlling interior gaps in the run game and as a run defender. He plays with good initial leverage to get under blockers’ pads before jacking them up and walking them into the backfield. He does a good job of creating piles on the interior, but also understands how to win half-man leverage and put his hips in a gap to shut it down.
Nobody will confuse Miller with an athletic interior rusher, but he has better-than-anticipated quickness and agility. That gives him a solid first step when he anticipates the snap well, as well as the ability to execute stunts and twists along the line of scrimmage. In particular, Georgia used Miller as a looper on a surprisingly frequent basis.
Miller typically diagnoses the play well and is quick to disengage in pursuit. He offers good toughness throughout the game, both in pursuit and in working through tough blockers.
Weaknesses
Worst traits
- Long speed
- Pass rush
The limitations in Miller’s game all come down to limited athleticism. While he has better than anticipated quickness and agility, he’s a very short-ranged athlete. His play slows rather dramatically after his second or third step, and that limits both his pass rush and his pursuit.
Miller is an unsophisticated pass rusher, who’s mostly limited to pushing the pocket. He lacks the speed to quickly create interior pressure, and most NFL caliber interior linemen can slow his bull rushes. The quarterback is the most important position on the field, and defenders who are less of a threat to disrupt the quarterback tend to slide down draft boards a bit.
Miller is also limited in his ability to pursue ball carriers beyond a few yards. He’s quick to disengage and eager to pursue, but he won’t run anyone down from behind. That also shows up on off-tackle runs or when running backs bounce their runs to exploit cutback lanes.
Game Tape
(Miller is the Georgia defensive tackle wearing number 52. )
Projection
Christen Miller projects as a rotational defensive tackle with scheme diversity at the NFL level. He has the versatility to play in just about any defensive front commonly called in the NFL, though teams looking for four disruptive penetrators would likely look elsewhere.
Miller has starting upside in the right situation, most likely as the nose tackle in a blitzing 3-4 or hybrid front. That said, teams would want to limit his work load to manage fatigue throughout the game, and to get more athletic players on the field in third downs.
Miller should be one of the first defensive tackles selected in the draft, though he’ll likely have to wait until some time on the second day to hear his name called.
Does he fit the Giants? Possibly, depending on scheme.
Final Word: A middle Day 2 pick
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