Over a few short weeks, tight end has gone from a position of strength for the Detroit Lions to a glaring weakness. A season-ending injury to star Sam LaPorta alone threw the position into disarray, but the additional injury to Brock Wright left the Lions with scraps. Entering Week 15, Detroit’s active tight ends are Ross Dwelley, Anthony Firkser, and Hayden Rucci, none of whom were on the Lions roster back in training camp.
With four games left in the regular season, the Lions will be hard-pressed to replicate the production of their missing tight ends. However, it is nonetheless an important position for the Lions’ offensive scheme that cannot be ignored. How can the Lions make do with their current tight end situation?
Today’s Question of the Day is:
What should the Detroit Lions do at tight end?
My answer: Keep using jumbo packages, activate Shane Zylstra when healthy, and utilize Isaac TeSlaa in a “big slot” role.
Without LaPorta and Wright for the foreseeable future, the Lions are down to the bottom of the tight end barrel. Of the three tight ends on the active roster, Dwelley and Rucci are blocking-oriented, while Firkser is more of a receiving target. However, none of these options are satisfactory for a team on a playoff hunt. As for Rucci, he joins the team off waivers from the Carolina Panthers, but the 2024 undrafted free agent has played in just four career games—he has more career tackles (one) than receptions (zero). Despite being known as a blocker, Dwelley has been graded among the worst on the roster by PFF. Firkser’s last season with more than 10 receptions was all the way back in 2021, standing out very little in any capacity. As for practice squad options, Zach Horton or Giovanni Ricci fall into the same category of minimal immediate upside.
The obvious move is to stick with what works: jumbo packages. Utilizing Skipper as a sixth offensive lineman, the Lions saw significant success against the Dallas Cowboys, running the formation a whopping 36.8 percent of the time. Lining up Skipper at tight end all but eliminates the receiving threat from the tight end position, but as a counterargument, would Dwelley, Rucci, or Firsker threaten defenses anyway? This package is not a one-size-fits-all solution, but it might be Detroit’s best option for extra blocking.
The next choice is to activate Zylstra from the injured reserve. Zylstra has just 116 career receiving yards to his name (fewer than Firsker and Dwelley), which leaves a lot to be desired. However, prior to his Week 2 ankle injury, he was firmly entrenched as the third-string tight end behind LaPorta and Wright. Dwelley was brought in afterwards, and given how he has performed (subpar), it would be very surprising to see Zylstra’s role usurped. Zylstra has also been with the Lions since 2021 and is very familiar with Jared Goff and Dan Campbell, so acclimating himself to a starting role might come more easily than expected. However, all of this is moot if Zylstra is not ready to go. His evaluation clock started last week, but he was listed as a non-participant during Tuesday and Wednesday practices.
If the Lions are looking to replicate LaPorta’s production as a receiver, turning to TeSlaa in the slot could be an option. TeSlaa cannot play inline like a classic tight end, but his size and hands could be used for a big slot role. In college at Arkansas, TeSlaa was primarily a slot target, though that was not his forecasted role in the NFL, instead profiling as an X-receiver (and eventually replacing Tim Patrick). Since joining the Lions, TeSlaa has played 199 snaps out wide versus 78 in the slot. Interestingly enough, 34 of his slot snaps have come during the previous two games, coinciding with no LaPorta and Wright in the lineup. I still believe that TeSlaa’s long-term role is as an outside receiver, but it might be worth giving him some looks in the slot to try to match the safety net that LaPorta provided.
With the trade deadline long since passed and a barren free agent pool, the Lions will have to make do with their current set of tight ends. I think that Detroit has enough flexibility in their lineup and game plan to somewhat make up for the absences, but there is no question that their depth is being tested.
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