Isaac TeSlaa scuffled through training camp and didn’t catch a pass in either of the preseason games he played, but Detroit Lions wide receivers coach Scottie Montgomery said he’s not worried about TeSlaa’s performance or ability to have a more prominent role on offense when the Lions open the regular season next week against the New Orleans Saints.
“I'm not too concerned,” Montgomery told the Free Press last week. “I do want our guys making every single play. And we did hold him accountable for some of the things that went on, and that’s the difference in being in the room and being outside of the room.”
TeSlaa is expected to play as the Lions’ No. 3 receiver this fall after the team kept just four receivers on its initial 53-man roster.
He had
six touchdowns among his 16 catches as a rookie, when he played primarily as the No. 4 receiver and delivered a handful of highlight-reel plays. But he hasn’t won with the same consistency in contested-ball situations this summer.
TeSlaa dropped one pass that led to an interception in the Lions’ preseason-opening loss to the Cincinnati Bengals and couldn’t hold on to another fourth-down throw in traffic.
He finished the preseason with no catches on three targets in 44 offensive snaps and had a similarly bland training camp.
Montgomery said the Lions challenged TeSlaa by putting him in tougher matchups this summer, against their and other teams’ top cornerbacks. And he said he saw growth from TeSlaa that didn’t show up in the box score.
“The one thing that I like about this year, though, he's been going against Number 1 corners,” Montgomery said. “Last year, you get hidden at the Number 3, Number 3/4 spot, the top guys are not coming out there every time. So you're beating rookies or you're beating the three or four corners. Not this spring. Our goal was to put him against D.J. Reed and to put him against 2-3 [Rock Ya-Sin], it was to put him against all of the guys, whether it was [Nick] Whiteside. We wanted to see him go against this competition, and he had to work through it.”
The Lions have one of the best skill groups in the NFL with Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams at the top of their receiving corps, Jahmyr Gibbs at running back and Sam LaPorta at tight end.
TeSlaa projects as the team’s fifth offensive option this fall, with Tay Martin as the No. 4 receiver, Tom Kennedy and Lucky Jackson on the practice squad at the position and the Lions likely to use more two- and three-tight end sets under new coordinator Drew Petzing.
Montgomery said St. Brown and Williams “are playing at the highest level we’ve had them play at right now,” and he said he’s confident TeSlaa will get there, too.
“One of the things I really loved is that he went through that dip when everybody, ‘No one loves me anymore,’ and he had to come back and see what that was like,” Montgomery said. “When you come into this league and you’re the poster boy and everybody gives you everything, sometimes you forget the grind that got you where you are. Not saying that he did, but what he did realize is that it's day to day. They can love you today, they can hate you tomorrow, they can love you again the day after that. So it's just about putting in the work.”
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lions 'not too concerned' with WR Isaac TeSlaa's sluggish summer
