Detroit Lions’ Sneaky Draft Pick is Paying Off

The Detroit Lions haven’t had the best preseason, but hopefully it’s just a bad dress rehearsal and will be a great show when the new season starts, as the old adage states. Their preseason started with a lopsided loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, who are coached by Jim Harbaugh formerly of the University of Michigan, and they struggled on Saturday, August 23, against the Houston Texans.

The preseason, while basically meaningless football, does give the second stringers a chance to show their stuff. For the Detroit Lions, there have been struggles on the second string, especially in the quarterback position. At this point, it seems as if backup quarterback Hendon Hooker will be with another team come fall. But, it hasn’t all been negative news for the Lions.

So, as the Detroit Lions head into the 2025-26 season as one of the strongest teams in the NFL, they have a few bright spots on their rookie lineup. One rookie, in particular, is really showing his worth on the field during the preseason, and he’s a Michigan native, which makes it that much better.

Detroit Lions Pick is Proving His Worth

The Detroit Lions have one of the top wide receiver duos in the league with Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, but the Lions still felt like they need to get some solid help for these players in the new season. So, the team drafted Isaac TeSlaa in the third round, trading up for him, and TeSlaa has really delivered in the preseason.

During Saturday’s preseason game against the Houston Texans, TeSlaa scored his third touchdown of the preseason and did so in a glorious way. He had a massive 33-yard score and celebrated with a great “worm” move in the endzone.

As one person said in the comments section of the NFL’s social post, “Man, Brad Holmes really did it again.” Holmes seriously knows what he’s doing on these draft picks.

Meet One of the Lions’ Newest Stars

Some Lions enthusiasts are even comparing TeSlaa to the great Calvin Johnson. One commenter mentioned that the Lions really drafted another Megatron, which was met with some agreement, but also some people not agreeing. “Not quite Megatron physically. That was an once in a lifetime type thing. Not even fair, but he’s gonna be good,” one commenter replied.

TeSlaa, a Michigan native, was selected by the Lions in the third round of the 2025 NFL draft as the 70th overall pick out of Arkansas. He was the first wide receiver the Detroit Lions have ever picked out of Arkansas. During the 2024 college season, TeSlaa appeared in 13 games with five starts and had a total of 28 receptions for 545 yards, as well as three touchdowns. He ranked No. 5 in the SEC and No. 13 in the FBS in receiving average and second on the Razorbacks in receiving yards, according to the Lions. During his 2023 season with Arkansas, he started all 12 games and caught 34 passes for 351 yards and two touchdowns.

It will certainly be exciting to see how far TeSlaa goes in his NFL career. Hopefully he’s with the Detroit Lions for a long time.