The Detroit Lions had a successful NFL Draft, adding to a roster that has Super Bowl aspirations over the weekend. But like many drafts, the Lions class didn’t come without some controversy.
The biggest question became at the beginning of the third round when the Lions traded up 32 picks to select Arkansas wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa with the 70th overall selection on Friday night. The 6-foot-4, 214-pound Michigan native was a demon during athletic testing, posting a 9.97 relative athletic score (RAS). But his limited production had many scratching their heads.
This led Brad Holmes to defend his decision on local radio Tuesday morning and if his comments come to fruition, nobody will think the trade was a reach if TeSlaa lives up to his potential.
Lions GM Brad Holmes Calls Isaac TeSlaa His Favorite Receiver in the NFL Draft
Holmes discussed the decision to move up for TeSlaa and the rest of his draft strategy during an interview on WXYT-FM on Tuesday morning. While Holmes estimated he discussed “about 30” trades on Friday night, his main intention was to bring TeSlaa home as he indicated the Lions were running out of starter’s grade players on their board.
“I’m not saying he was the best wide receiver in the draft, but favoirte wide receiver in the draft, yes,” Holmes said on the Costa & Jansen with Heather Show via The Detroit Free Press’s Dave Birkett. “You’re sitting down there at 102 and you look up and it’s like, ‘OK, we love this player but there’s probably about eight teams that still are looking for a wide receiver.’
“So we’re sitting there at 102, ‘OK, if we stay here, we’re going to be dealing with a different level of player based on our board. Not on the other 31 other boards, but based on our boards. So you take all that into account.”
Some would argue the Lions had TeSlaa ranked too highly on their board. He caught just 62 passes for 896 yards and five touchdowns over two seasons with the Razorbacks but a lot of that could have been the run-first style of Sam Pittman’s offense. You could also argue that the Arkansas scheme helped TeSlaa improve in other facets of his game that stood out when Holmes scouted him at the Senior Bowl.
TeSlaa has plenty of development to do as a pass catcher but he also can force his way up the depth chart. While Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams are locked-in starters, Tim Patrick is the No. 3 receiver and Kalif Raymond enters camp as No. 4 but TeSlaa could enter the picture soon and even carve out a role in special packages.
If Holmes’ vision comes to fruition, trading up for TeSlaa may not be a reach and it gives the Lions another weapon in an offense that’s full of them.