The Detroit Lions went well off the consensus rankings when they parted with multiple third-round picks to move up and take wide receiver Isaa TeSlaa 70th overall in last year's draft.
TeSlaa offered the lone highight in a Week 1 loss to the Green Bay Packers with a terrific touchdown catch. That led to head coach Dan Campbell talking about increasing his role, especially since an illness in the weak leading into the season opener limited his overall readiness.
That did come to fruition, as TeSlaa played 89 offensive snaps over the next five games. The production just didn't arrive, with two catches for 41 yards and a touchdown (on four targets) over that span. Then he totaled 12 offensive snaps over the two games around the Week 8 bye.
TeSlaa's playing time bounched back, with at least 20 offensive snaps in three straight games from Week 10-12. In the midst of that stretch, Lions' tight end Sam LaPorta was sidelined by a back injury that would end his season.
The Lions' offense shifted away from "12" personnel (one running back, two tight ends) in the first game LaPorta missed (Week 11 against the Philadelphia Eagles), and it stuck the rest of the season. They had used "12" personnel nearly a third of the time through Week 10 (LaPorta's last game), and by the end for the season (according to Sumer Sports) that rate dipped to 22.67 percent for the season as a whole.
In line with LaPorta's absence, TeSlaa played no less than 41 percent of the offensive snaps over the final seven games of the season and he had more than a 51 percent snap share in each of the last six.
When it was all said and done, TeSlaa finished his rookie season with 16 catches for 239 yards and six touchdowns while playing nearly 40 percent of the offensive snaps. Spurred that touchdown rate, of course, he had the most fantasy points per target (2.8) among wide receivers with at least 25 targets.
Isaac TeSlaa easily tabbed as Lions' 2026 fantasy breakout candidate
In the fantasy football realm, any Lions' skill position player this side of Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs and LaPorta (when healthy) is easily subjected to the "too many mouths to feed" reason for caution. Looking toward his second season, TeSlaa will be no different.
Fantasy breakout candidates are not easy to come by when we talk about the Lions. So when Justin Boone of Yahoo! had to come up with an early one for 2026, TeSlaa surely stood out even with the concerns that are in play.
"The Lions are one of those offenses that have a plethora of playmakers, which makes it tough for anyone new to emerge as a significant fantasy option."
"It’s still hard not to recognize what TeSlaa did as a part-time player during his rookie season. Even in a passing attack that features Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Sam LaPorta and Jahmyr Gibbs, the 23-year-old TeSlaa scored six touchdowns in his first campaign."
"The fact that he did it on just 16 total receptions is remarkable, yet unsustainable at the same time. However, it’s clear the Lions value TeSlaa after they traded three third-round picks to move up and acquire him in last year’s draft. So, you can expect his role to grow in Year 2 beyond just being a random contested-catch specialist."
"For a true fantasy breakout to occur, it’ll likely require an injury to one of the top two receivers. That makes TeSlaa a late-round target only for fantasy, but a very intriguing dynasty stash."
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Campbell talked about TeSlaa's growth the course of his rookie season, which sets an early bar of higher expectations for him in Year 2. His role is sure to evolve beyond, as Boone referred to it, being a "random contested-catch specialist".
Even with automatic touchdown-per-catch regression to come, there's a path for TeSlaa to deliver some electricity for fantasy managers who take a low-risk, high-reward chance on him late in 2026 drafts.