The Lions trading up for Isaac TeSlaa in the 2025 NFL Draft was one of the most heavily debated moves of draft weekend.
Detroit traded multiple third-round picks to move up and draft TeSlaa in the early third round just a few weeks ago. TeSlaa didn't have a ton of college production, and many analysts heavily disagreed with the Lions' decision to take the Arkansas wide receiver.
Lions' rookie minicamp started on Friday and was the first time that fans and media were able to lay their eyes on the new Lions rookie class. TeSlaa was able to run some routes at this minicamp, and the clips that came from it sparked heavy debates online.
Welcome aboard @TeslaaIsaac pic.twitter.com/bmRCNltC1G
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) May 10, 2025
Analysts hated the single clip, but beat reporters calmed fans down
This minicamp clip went viral on Saturday, with some draft analysts using it to talk about TeSlaa's separation issues. Ray G, NFL Draft content creator at Bleacher Report, took to X to comment on the highlight from TeSlaa.
"This can't be inspiring if you're a fan of the Detroit Lions," said Ray G.
I think it's fair for analysts on social media to look at a clip and use it to justify their disagreement with the Lions' pick, but they weren't at minicamp and didn't see anything more than just one clip.
Plenty of Lions beat reporters were at the scene for minicamp this weekend and provided an encouraging update for Lions fans. Jeremy Reisman of SB Nation, who covers the Lions, attended minicamp on Friday and provided insight on all of the Lions' rookies and how they performed at camp.
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"The first catch was a nice adjustment from TeSlaa, coming back on a ball that was thrown back shoulder on the sidelines," said Reisman regarding the first of two catches for TeSlaa. "On the other, he cleanly beat the cornerback on an out route, where he took a stab inside that slowed the corner down.
Reisman expressed that TeSlaa was heavily featured in the 7-on-7 portion of camp, and the Lions made sure that he faced press coverage to see how the rookie would respond. Although the highs were high for the Arkansas wide receiver, it was not a perfect day for him.
"He had another pass his way broken up after not creating separation, and he fell down on a couple of routes as well," said Reisman.
Regardless of the conversations online and the fact that the Lions traded multiple picks to acquire TeSlaa, he was a third-round pick. If he were a first-rounder that the Lions used heavy capital on, then I could see the concerns from fans, but the Lions drafted him as a prospect.
I believe TeSlaa has all the tools to become a strong WR3 for Detroit, and his versatility will show once his NFL reps increase.