The Detroit Lions have a massive NFC North showdown against the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving Day. With just six weeks remaining on the schedule, every game matters, especially as the division race is a tight one between these two teams and the Chicago Bears.
The Lions need everyone to put their best foot forward, and head coach Dan Campbell spoke about rookie receiver Isaac TeSlaa on Tuesday. During his presser, via Colton Pouncy of The Athletic, Campbell said, "I do believe it's gonna come. He'll get an uptick in production, he'll get used a little bit more here, but I like where he's at."
And while this is what fans want to hear about their third-round pick, the Lions should look to use TeSlaa more in this coming game against Green Bay.
Lions Need to Feature Isaac TeSlaa vs. Green Bay
The Packers may be without one of their starting corners, as Keisean Nixon is dealing with a stringer and is listed as day-to-day. It doesn't help that Nate Hobbs has been dealing with a knee injury and has missed the last few games.
It may leave Carrington Valentine as the Packers' top corner, and he'll spend time lining up against Amon-Ra St.Brown and Jameson Williams. TeSlaa would be the third WR in the passing game and could be lining up against some backups. That's the kind of environment that you want to put your player in so they can succeed.
For the last three weeks, TeSlaa has seen his snaps in every outing. Despite getting more playing time, he hasn't been able to translate it to more production (one catch for 11 receiving yards between Weeks 10-12). Regardless, the Lions like what traits he brings to the table and are eager to utilize him.
This season, he has four catches for 65 receiving yards and two touchdowns. And the 23-year-old is fourth on the team in total snaps (172) at receiver, trailing St. Brown, Williams, and Kalif Raymord. The first two names should be the majority of the receiver reps, but the same can't be said for Raymond.
Raymond has logged 308 total snaps at receiver this season, notching 15 catches for 150 receiving yards. While he has history playing for the Lions, logging five straight seasons with the team, they know what he is as a receiver.
He's fine as a WR4/WR5 with the ability to make an impact as a returner. Anything more than that is a stretch, which is why the Lions should rip off the band-aid and increase TeSlaa's snaps. They've spoken about this on several occasions this year, but the time to put things into action is now.