The San Francisco 49ers continue their busy third day at the 2011 NFL Draft by selecting defensive end Bruce Miller with the 211th overall pick. The UCF Junior comes in at 6’1" 254 pounds, he is a bit undersized at the position and doesn’t exactly have an NFL ready frame right now, but that can be worked on with the Niners strength and conditioning crew. He is an intelligent, driven athlete though, and seems to be the type of guy the 49ers are looking for.
Miller does posses some good speed, and gets off the line very well with his initial burst. He’s an instinctive guy who likely will be a situational or backup type player as the 49ers took Aldon Smith at the same position. Miller can definitely bring some competition to the DE postion in the first round, and could earn a spot on the roster with his hard working attitude and drive to get better.
Coming from a similar system to San Francisco’s 3-4 system, Miller will have a good understanding out of the gate. Now the question will be if he can do the work to make it in the NFL.
Here's Miller's NFL Prospect Video via YouTube, I apologize in advance for the music that goes with the video:
2011 NFL Prospect Highlights: Bruce Miller (via UCFVideos)