Allen Park — He knows everybody’s name now. So even before Isaac TeSlaa steps foot in the building these days, the second-year pro already feels like he’s ahead of the game, at least compared to his rookie season.
The names and the faces are no longer new. And even though the Lions’ offensive coordinator is this spring, TeSlaa will tell you his understanding of the playbook — and his sense of place on this NFL roster — is a far cry from where it was a year ago.
“I wouldn’t say it’s relaxing, because in football you can never really relax,” said TeSlaa, the Hudsonville native who was a surprise third-round draft selection out of Arkansas last spring. “I mean, you’ve got to have an edge about you. But it’s just a lot more comfortable, and I feel like I’m able to play a little bit faster. I’m doing a lot less thinking this year.”
And if you think about it, that’s probably for the best, coming on the heels of a rookie season that was never going to meet outside expectations. Not after general manager Brad Holmes made another bold move on Day 2 of last year’s draft, trading three third-round picks to move up 32 picks and select TeSlaa, the former Hillsdale College standout who’d actually worn a custom Lions jersey with his name on it — a gift he’d gotten in eighth grade — to his pre-draft visit in Allen Park.
TeSlaa flashed some of the raw talent that enticed Holmes and the Lions’ scouts last fall, making some highlight-reel catches and finishing with six touchdown receptions, which ranked second only to Carolina’s Tet McMillan, a top-10 pick, among rookie receivers across the league. But with just 16 catches and 27 total targets for the season, it was hard to know what to make of it all in the end.
“I mean, last year I came in not really knowing what to expect,” said TeSlaa, who also battled a nagging knee problem through training camp and into the regular season. “I didn’t know how much playing time I was going to get. I was really just working on earning a role. But this year, now that I feel like I’ve gotten a little more comfortable, I have some pretty lofty goals for myself.”
He’ll keep the numbers that he has in mind to himself, of course. But it’s clear the coaches have similar goals for TeSlaa as he steps into the No. 3 receiving role behind Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams this season. And, really, you could see that coming even late last season, once Dan Campbell took over the play-calling duties on offense and got the rookie wideout more involved, especially after the Lions lost tight end Sam LaPorta to season-ending back surgery.
“His growth took off, and he got a little bit better every week,” Campbell said of TeSlaa, who played more than 60% of the offensive snaps from Thanksgiving through Week 18. “He became a guy, by the end of the year, that we had a lot of trust in.”
This spring, it’s continuing to grow. And when Campbell says “there’s been nothing flashy” about TeSlaa’s play, “I mean that as a compliment,” the coach adds, smiling. “He’s just steady, he’s consistent for a young guy and he doesn’t get frazzled.”
TeSlaa can feel the trust building, too, for what it’s worth. Yet while he appreciates hearing some of the praise Campbell threw his way Tuesday before Day 1 of the Lions’ two-day mandatory minicamp in Allen Park, “I don’t want to hang my hat on that and say, ‘Oh, I’ve done a good job.’”
“I always want to have an edge about me and kind of have that mentality of being a rookie, where you’ve got to do everything the right way in order for the coaches to notice you,” he said. “Once they notice you, then you’ve got to keep building on those things and making plays, and then they’ll be comfortable with you.”
With TeSlaa expected to play a bigger role in the offense this season, the idea is for him to give Jared Goff “an even bigger window to throw the football.” And that means more than simply using his 6-foot-4 frame, a 40-inch vertical and those Velcro hands to make circus catches in games. At this level, there’s way more to it than that if you want to become a reliable target.
That’s why the offseason mandate from the coaching staff was to improve his short-area quickness. And after getting some much-needed rest at home in west Michigan in January and February, TeSlaa headed down to Fort Myers, Florida, for a six-week stint with trainer Jordan Luallen at X3 Performance and Physical Therapy. Now that he’s back with the team, the route-running improvements are noticeable, according associate head coach Scottie Montgomery, who works with the Lions’ receivers.
He’s “so much cleaner and so much stronger” coming out of his breaks now,” Montgomery said. “And where we were to where he is now, he’s not even close.”
Where he goes from here remains an open question, obviously. But TeSlaa does seem poised to make a name for himself this fall.
john.niyo@detroitnews.com
@JohnNiyo
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Niyo: Lions’ Isaac TeSlaa ready to make leap for ‘lofty goals’
Reporting by John Niyo, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By John Niyo, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
