When the Detroit Lions drafted Isaac TeSlaa in the third round—ahead of most NFL Draft experts’ projections—it was a common narrative that he would come in raw and be a bit of a project. Having played mostly in the slot, the 6-foot-4 receiver was clearly brought in to play on the outside in Detroit. And even Lions general manager Brad Holmes said it may take some time for the receiver to learn that position.
“Just like any other receiver he’s going to need to develop but he’s got the tools to play outside and win outside. He’s going to have to learn getting off press and all that stuff just like they all do, but he’s got all the physical tools and he’s got the intangible makeup to be able to overcome that,” Holmes said.
TeSlaa entered Lions training camp with relatively low expectations for an offensive role. Detroit’s top four receivers from last season—Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Tim Patrick, and Kalif Raymond—all returned, and all were regularly repping over him in practice.
But seemingly every time TeSlaa had an opportunity, he made plays. Nowhere was that more clear than during the preseason. Consistently playing in the first half of each game, TeSlaa finished Detroit’s four preseason games with 10 catches on 13 targets for 146 yards and three touchdowns, including one score in each of the team’s final three exhibition games despite limited playing time.
Now the Lions are facing a reality where, within a stretch of six weeks, TeSlaa has earned enough trust to potentially play on offense early.
“We’re very pleased with where he’s at after six weeks of camp because that’s really what it’s been. We just finished six weeks, so I’d say, if you took most receivers, he’d be in the upper echelon of those, as far as development,” Campbell said. “It’s pretty good. It’s not easy to develop as a receiver in this league and be ready to go, and I think there’s a place for him to help us early in this season.”
That’s high praise from Campbell and a sign that, at the very least, Detroit is prepared to have some subpackages for TeSlaa as early as Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers.
What’s interesting is that most of TeSlaa’s work has been against backups. He rarely played with the first team during 11-on-11 drills in training camp, and all of his preseason work was done with the reserves. But Campbell believes TeSlaa has gotten enough individual work with quarterback Jared Goff and against Detroit’s top corners that he can be confident TeSlaa will produce against the league’s best.
“He gets those guys in one-on-ones, he gets them in practice a little bit. And our two corners, they’re good players,” Campbell said “This isn’t like we need to go find somebody that—he’s taken reps with the ones, he’s been in there with Goff, he’s had to run on good versus good. He’s no different than any young player. He’s just going to have some growing pains. He’s going to continue to get better and better.”
TeSlaa isn’t acting like a player who has already walked in an won a job on the starting offense. He knows this team is stacked with weapons, and he’s still tinkering with his game and finding his role.
“I think there’s just so many small details I can continue to work on,” TeSlaa said after the preseason finale. “Obviously, you watch the guys in the room, the veterans, I think there’s just so many things they do well that I can continue to watch and improve on.”
At the very least, TeSlaa will provide some spark on special teams. In camp, he’s been on several different units, including the critical gunner role on punt coverage and on the return team for the new, dynamic kickoff
“TeSlaa has done a great job really for us,” special teams coordinator Dave Fipp said last week.
With most of practice now happening behind closed doors, we’re not going to know how much work TeSlaa gets with the starters in the two weeks leading up to the season opener. But when the Lions do head down to Lambeau for Week 1, don’t be surprised if TeSlaa is in line for a little more than just special teams work.
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