The national disrespect has already begun for Lions' rookie stud Isaac TeSlaa

The Detroit Lions have witnessed the impressive emergence of wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa during training camp, and that development is great news for their offense.

As potent as the Detroit attack has been the last few years, there's been a need for a third option at wideout to help in the red zone as well as with moving the chains. So far, it looks as if TeSlaa is evolving into that player.

In the Hall of Fame game, TeSlaa's emergence was one of the more notable positives from a dismal Detroit performance. He put up a total of two receptions for 46 yards and looked very smooth running routes even though he did not find the end zone.

During Week 2 of the preseason against the Atlanta Falcons, TeSlaa found his first touchdown, showing off the characteristics that have folks so excited. He hauled in a beautiful fade pass from Kyle Allen in the corner of the end zone and easily beat his defender.

Watching this, it could be obvious that TeSlaa deserves to be included as one of the top draft steals in 2025. In spite of that, he was overlooked on a list from Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox running down the nine most obvious draft day steals.

According to Knox, the list named players from "Round 3 or later who already look like draft-day steals based on offseason buzz, camp and/or preseason performances and projected roles." Just that description itself would seem to fit TeSlaa well.

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Knox included four other wide receivers on the list, naming Elic Ayomanor of the Tennessee Titans, Tory Horton of the Seattle Seahawks, Keandre Lambert-Smith of the Los Angeles Chargers and Arian Smith of the New York Jets as players who fit the description. Despite his own solid start, TeSlaa was nowhere to be found.

Coming into the season, the TeSlaa pick was widely lampooned by analysts. So far, it has looked to be a positive for Detroit. Still, this proves the youngster has plenty of work to do to make others believe in 2025.

TeSlaa draws major comparison to Puka Nacua as fans learn his game

Publications might not be able to ignore TeSlaa much longer, because his game is about to be on full display during the regular season. If he becomes a weapon early within Detroit's elite offense, he's likely to be a focal point and player that becomes a new star.

Though many have overlooked TeSlaa's impact thus far, others see a player who could be primed to make a huge impact. As one fantasy pundit on X pointed out, he already sees favorable comparisons to Nacua brewing.

Nacua was similarly overlooked coming out of the draft as a fifth-round pick, but quickly rose to fame with the Los Angeles Rams. He posted 1,486 yards and six touchdowns as a rookie, and was named a second-team All-Pro and Pro Bowler for his 2023 work.

If TeSlaa has a similar statistical impact, it won't matter which pundits thought he was primed to become a star first. Even though that's true, he clearly deserves more flowers for his sterling start with the Lions. Perhaps much like Amon-Ra St. Brown, he'll use the snub as motivation.

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