The Detroit Lions made a bold move in the 2025 offseason to climb in the draft to select rising wide receiver Issac TeSlaa. While TeSlaa didn’t make a huge statistical impact as a rookie, he was still hard to miss on the field.
TeSlaa made plenty of impact plays from his one-handed touchdown catch in Week 1 on. With six touchdowns to his credit, TeSlaa got to be known as somewhat of a one-hit wonder in the red zone. As frustrating as it was to not see him more productive overall, he was no less impressive.
Though he only produced 239 yards on 16 catches, TeSlaa turned in some of the best plays the league saw last season at wide receiver, leading to thoughts that he can be a revelation the more experience he gets in the years ahead.
After the 2025 season, the NFL put together a list of the top 100 plays in the league. Many wouldn’t expect to see a rookie show up anywhere on the list, but TeSlaa cracked it three times with a trio of his most impressive work last season.
TeSlaa checked in at No. 91 on the list with his improbable catch against the Chicago Bears, No. 64 on the countdown with his impressive grab against the Pittsburgh Steelers and finally at an impressive No. 18 with his one-handed masterpiece against the Green Bay Packers.
The fact that a seldom-used rookie receiver would make three of the league’s most impressive plays last season speaks volumes about what his future can be. The Lions believe that TeSlaa can be a missing link in their offense with his size and playmaking ability as he continue to develop. Nothing he did in 2025 did anything to harm that notion.
TeSlaa focused on adding quickness to his toolbox during the offseason
The fact that TeSlaa was already seen as a human highlight reel in limited action shows what he can be moving forward in Detroit. The hope is that TeSlaa can transition from a gadget type player capable of big plays to a more consistent threat all over the field.
Immediately after the 2025 season wound down, finding that next step was something that TeSlaa was already focused on. When speaking about his goals for 2026, TeSlaa revealed he is already plotting a way to become more dangerous with the coaching staff in terms of speed and agility.
READ MORE: Pro Football Focus highlights mistake the Lions have made with Alex Anzalone
“I know I want to get a little bit better going into my second season. I had my exit meeting with with (wide receiver coach) Scotty (Montgomery) and he said the biggest thing is quickness, quickness and separation. I think (that’s) something that would add just a little bit more to my game (which) will really help me out.”
Finding a way to be a more consistent and speedy threat will help both TeSlaa and the Lions. If there was a reason Jared Goff didn’t look in his direction a bit more, it may have been a lack of offensive understanding. Moving forward, the hope is TeSlaa can use his skills in a better way and maximize his development.
As the highlight reel showed, it might not be a stretch to imagine that playing out sooner rather than later.
