CINCINNATI – The biggest breakout candidate on the Detroit Lions offense has had a quiet start to training camp, but coach Dan Campbell isn’t worried one bit.
Campbell downplayed wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa’s summer struggles for the second time in just over a week after TeSlaa had a pass ricochet off his helmet for an interception and dropped a fourth-down conversion in the Lions’ 16-14 preseason-opening loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday, Aug. 13.
“All it takes is a couple of wins,” Campbell said. “Just a couple of wins at critical times against some guys in practice and then in a game to all of a sudden – boom – skyrockets. It goes back up. So sometimes with a young player, it’s a little bit of that pendulum swing, so he’ll be fine. He’s going to be just fine.”
TeSlaa’s tough night Thursday was the continuation of what’s been a sluggish summer in his bid for a bigger role on offense this fall.
Ticketed to be the Lions’ No. 3 receiver after the departure of Kalif Raymond in free agency, TeSlaa hasn’t made any of the splash plays he wowed fans with as a rookie. Last year, TeSlaa had modest receiving totals of 16 catches and 239 yards in his first NFL season, but he scored six touchdowns and made several acrobatic one-handed grabs.
Campbell compared TeSlaa to a golfer tinkering with his swing earlier this summer, saying the young pass-catcher was working to become a more complete receiver.
“When you start getting into some technique stuff and you’re a young player, it’s a lot like golf,” Campbell said. “It’s perfect and you’re in the flow and you can feel it, but all of a sudden, if one thing gets off just a little bit and you kind of get in this − there’s a little bit of this funk, right? And then you’re trying to solve the issue and so you change your swing a little bit, and then you’ve corrected the wrong way. And that’s what comes with all this.”
A part-time starter in his final college season at Arkansas after he transferred from Division III Hillsdale, TeSlaa was considered a developmental project when the Lions traded up to take him in the third round of the 2025 draft.
He specialized in contested catches and proved to be a reliable downfield blocker as a rookie, but the Lions challenged him to improve his short-area quickness and polish his route running this offseason.
Lions receivers coach Scottie Montgomery said in June he saw the makings of a receiver who was better equipped in one-on-one situations “to not just win with length, but to win with quickness and length,” though that hasn’t translated to the field this summer.
“He’s done a good job of going and getting the football since he’s been here, and now the top of his breaks, they’re so much cleaner, he’s so much stronger,” Montgomery said in minicamp. “Last year, what I like to do is I like to watch where we were, especially from an athleticism standpoint to where he is now; it’s not even close.”
TeSlaa has struggled to gain separation at times from defensive backs this summer and hasn’t made any highlight-reel plays, but he also doesn’t appear to be in any danger of losing his grip on the No. 3 receiver job.
The Lions held Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams out of Thursday’s game against the Bengals and got minimal production from the rest of their receiving corps on a night they failed to reach the end zone until late in the fourth quarter.
Presumptive No. 4 receiver Greg Dortch did not catch a pass in seven offensive snaps. Dominic Lovett had three catches for 28 yards but also one drop. Cedric Wilson Jr. caught his only target for 23 yards. And Tarik Black scored the Lions’ only touchdown on a 24-yard catch but had another grab nullified by an offensive pass interference penalty.
Campbell was critical of his team’s sloppy play Thursday, saying “we shot ourselves in the foot and were not good on third down … primarily because of drops/penalties.” But he brushed off the notion that, midway through camp, he needed to talk to TeSlaa to make sure his summer blues don’t linger into the fall.
“I remember what those days are like,” Campbell said. “You want everything to come in a hurry, and you’re going into your second year and you can place a lot of pressure on yourself, especially when you want to be great and he wants to be great.
“And so I think more than anything, just stay the course. And I feel like TeSlaa, I don’t feel like I need to with him. Now, it doesn’t mean I won’t say something, but he’s a pretty headsy guy, he’s a pretty confident guy and he’s pretty good about, ‘You know what, I just got to go back to work.’ And that’s always served him well.”
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: What’s wrong with Lions WR Isaac TeSlaa? ‘He’s going to be just fine’
Reporting by Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
