The Detroit Lions have their work cut out for themselves after falling to the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving Day. While dropping to 1-3 in the division is far from ideal on its own, Thursday's loss was made worse by the Lions losing star receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown to an ankle sprain, but he's believed to be week-to-week with the injury.
That's certainly a positive development since the Lions won't be without St. Brown for an extended period of time. At the same time, the Lions' WR1's upcoming absence is a great chance for rookie playmaker Isaac TeSlaa to stand out and carve out a serious role for himself.
Amon-Ra St. Brown’s Injury Is a Good Opportunity for Isaac TeSlaa
St. Brown had to leave in the first quarter, which opened the door for TeSlaa to get more reps, logging a career-high 58 total snaps in the loss to Green Bay — more than he saw in the two previous weeks combined (48). And with his increased reps, he was able to record two catches for 35 receiving yards and a score, marking the first time he found the end zone since Week 5.
Thursday's performance also marked a career-high in receiving yards, as well as the first instance where TeSlaa had multiple receptions in a game. On the season, he has recorded six catches for 100 receiving yards and three touchdowns, scoring on 50.0% of his receptions so far. Leading up to this game, TeSlaa never played in more than 46% of the offensive snaps, so it'll be interesting to see if the Lions continue to load his plate in Week 14.
Depending on how long St. Brown will miss, the rookie WR will have the chance to carve out a serious role for himself after a slow start to the year. Head coach Dan Campbell has constantly said that he wanted to get TeSlaa more involved in the flow of the game, but it didn't able to happen at a high rate until this game against the Packers.
Considering the Lions have to fight their way into the playoffs, they need all hands on deck. Star tight end Sam LaPorta is done for the year, and Jameson Williams, Tom Kennedy, Dominic Lovett, and TeSlaa are the only healthy WRs on Detroit's roster. If that's the collection of pass-catchers Detroit throws out there, TeSlaa will likely be the No. 2 option in the passing attack.
The Lions are currently 13th in the league in pass attempts (380), indicating there will be plenty of chances to generate plays in the passing game. It'll come down to what TeSlaa does in a likely increased role with the Lions, as fans will be paying close attention to see if he capitalizes on St. Brown's absence, whether that lasts only one game or more.
It's no secret that the Lions like TeSlaa, as they've raved about him since announcing his selection in April. But this is finally the time to put their money where their mouth is and see what the 23-year-old can do for them when every upcoming game matters more than the last.