Rookie wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa received a huge vote of confidence from the Detroit Lions on Wednesday morning, but it came via trade.
The trade sees the Lions sending veteran wideout Tim Patrick to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for a 2026 sixth-round pick.
Patrick served as the Lions' No. 3 wide receiver last season, but he clearly struggled in training camp and battled injury. In that time, TeSlaa emerged as a legit threat to take snaps away from him after standing out in training camp and the preseason.
TeSlaa posted consistent production throughout the preseason and scored one touchdown in each of the team's final three exhibition contests. There is zero question that the Arkansas product passed the eye test.
After the preseason finale, head coach Dan Campbell made it quite clear that TeSlaa had earned himself a role in the offense.
"He’s going to continue to get better and better. I’m very pleased. We’re very pleased with where he’s at after six weeks of camp because that’s really what it’s been," he said of TeSlaa. "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.
"It’s pretty good. It’s not easy to develop as a receiver in this league and be ready to go. I think there’s a place for him to help us early in this season."
Isaac TeSlaa's stock gets a boost
TeSlaa will still be competing for snaps with veteran Kalif Raymond, but the Lions have made it clear in the past they don't want to have Raymond playing too many snaps on offense in order to maximize his skill set as a returner and gadget guy.
While TeSlaa appears to be Detroit's No. 3 wide receiver, he is still fairly far down in the pecking order of pass-catchers overall.
Lest we forget, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Sam LaPorta and Jahmyr Gibbs will all have bigger roles. Patrick's role as the WR3 in 2024 led to him posting 33 catches for 394 yards and three touchdowns.
For our fantasy football friends out there, TeSlaa is nothing more than a late-round bench stash if you have either Williams or St. Brown and his fantasy relevance will almost certainly depend upon those two staying healthy.
Nevertheless, it's very clear the Lions have a ton of faith in TeSlaa, which is a great sign for his future in the NFL.
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