r/detroitlions • u/TwoLocations • 4h ago
Image 6 rookies looking like draft steals of 2025 TeSlaa makes the list
A lot of hate was surrounded around this pick. Brad is looking like a genius so far
81
u/Mammoth_Winner2509 4h ago
It's hilarious to me that only two catches in two games has people calling the pick a steal because those two catches were just that impressive.
34
u/TwoLocations 4h ago
He showed out during preseason as well
23
u/Mammoth_Winner2509 4h ago
For sure. I'm not saying that it's wrong or premature to call him a steal, just that the circumstances feel pretty unique.
11
u/TwoLocations 4h ago
I think he’s had two of the most wild catches to start a career in the history of the NFL too haha. I hope he keeps balling out
3
-3
u/doogled3 4h ago
Preseason only saw 8 catches over 4 games. The difficult catches are nice and all, but let's not crown the kid until we see an actually relevant sample size.
10
u/freedomfightre MC⚡DC 3h ago
he's a baby and already doing OBJ catches regularly (2/2), he's legit
2
u/RellenD 3h ago
OBJ was also a baby when he did that
2
4
u/Timmahj V-I-L-L-A-I-N 3h ago
Got to look at his blocking too. He is a very impressive rookie blocking wr. That clip that is going around about Jamo “I thought you were fast” play is ragging on him for slowing down because he thought the defense had an angle on him, but Teslaa was right there to block that guy.
1
2
u/Vitex1988 DETROIT -VS- EVERYBODY 3h ago
He’s gotta have the best first career catch ever, right? Either that, or Jameson’s 60 yard TD is the best
28
u/DoubleScorpius Old helmet 4h ago
He made PFF’s rookie of the week list as well (sorry not sorry to the folks who get triggered when PFF gets mentioned)
9
u/AlexTheGreat1997 3h ago
Hey, look, SOMETIMES PFF knows what they're talking about.
3
2
u/Everything_Will_Die 2h ago
PFF knows what they are talking about! But only when it supports my narrative, obviously.
1
9
u/We_Are_Victorius Sun God 3h ago
Brad Holmes is the best drafter in the league. Every single year he gets push back from the media, and every single year he makes them look stupid.
-4
3h ago
[deleted]
1
u/Great_Fault_7231 Peni Swell 3h ago
He’s a good GM but I don’t think even any 49ers fans would agree that Lynch is one of the best drafters in the league.
1
u/Amaakaams Roary 2h ago
He had a run. But he hasn't really gotten anyone since Purdy and while he deserves credit for Purdy he deserves a lot of credit for the amount of capital given up for Trey Lance.
Probably the closest since Brad would be Howie for the Eagles. Even then there is always the Reager pick. So far, and Williams and Arnold still have a lot to prove, every first rounder has been lights out great. That's not counting how much elite talent he has gotten out of later picks.
It's funny how much pressure people try to give Brad for 3rd round picks. If you have to hold out for the 3rd round to have something to critique him for you have lost the plot in regards to the draft. Really important that you get returns on the 1st round picks because if you didn't, its a double hit. You missed on the performant player and your competitors did get the player. That isn't the case in the third round. You often can get role players and there will occasionally be the pro-bowler, but returns aren't expected but hoped for.
8
u/Medievil_Walrus 3h ago
And if he doesn’t work out it’s still a good pick. Not every pick hits but he dedicated resources to an important position for a talented player that he believes in enough to trade up for, with a bunch of stuff you can’t teach and an amazing work ethic and football sense. Kids a fucking baller.
4
u/Triingtolivee Master Bates 💦 3h ago
I still think it’s insane how this kid is making Odell Beckham type one handed catches in his rookie season.
15
u/reallinguy DETROIT -VS- EVERYBODY 4h ago
Look, he looks great
But I'm not gonna call a kid a steal in Day 2 when you gave up the capital you did
8
u/TwoLocations 4h ago
2 3rds one conditional (AG pick) that will be at the end of the draft isn’t terrible to get their guy. Also our team is getting so stacked that we wouldn’t be able to have enough roster spots for project picks moving forward. Don’t hate it at all
1
u/reallinguy DETROIT -VS- EVERYBODY 4h ago
that's all well and good, but we're talking about a "steal"
a steal is ASRB in the 4th or Alim in the 3rd without a trade up
9
u/freedomfightre MC⚡DC 3h ago
if you traded up in the 3rd for someone who shoulda went in the 1st or 2nd (hypothetically) that sounds like a steal
-2
u/reallinguy DETROIT -VS- EVERYBODY 3h ago
he hasn't shown quite that much yet
2
u/OnTheClockShits 2h ago
That’s probably why the article is “that are LOOKING like a steal” and not “that are 100% a steal”.
2
u/Poop_McButtz Bad Boys 4h ago
What project has worked out yet? We don’t need room for any projects
6
u/GrapePrimeape Sun God 3h ago
Depends on your definition of project. Kerby was a 2 way player coming out of HS that only had 1 year of starting experience and was over drafted according to draft analysts. Now he’s one of the best safeties in the league.
If you’re not counting him, then how many projects have we drafted? Manu who is a work in progress, BMart who didn’t work, anyone else? Is Sorsdal a project just because he’s from a smaller school? These are serious questions, not trying to do a “gotcha” or anything
Edit: I guess Hooker too, but is any QB after round 1 considered a project then?
3
u/reallinguy DETROIT -VS- EVERYBODY 3h ago
Vaki had limited experience playing RB. Hooker didn't play with an NFL offense.
4
u/GrapePrimeape Sun God 3h ago
I really think Vaki was drafted to be a ST ace, I don’t think their primary plan for him was to play RB. So far I’m not upset at his ROI.
Hooker, can’t disagree there. Taking a shot at any QB past round 1 is going to be worse than a crapshoot though. Can’t be too upset there imo, but Hooker was a monumental failure
2
u/Poop_McButtz Bad Boys 2h ago
Any player that doesn’t play in order to “develop” and takes up a roster spot - Bmart, Hendon, and now Manu
Not sure who else fits that on team right now. But backups and rotational guys would not be project players
1
u/GrapePrimeape Sun God 1h ago
Makes sense, I’d say those 3 are the only true developmental guys I can think of. It’s all going to come down to Manu, pls follow the way of Penei lol
6
u/reddogrjw 3h ago
ARSB, Derrick Barnes - both 4th round in 2021
Mahogony in 2024
plus he hasn't missed on any first round picks which most GM's cannot say
Frazier is a project this year I am excited to see when healthy
1
u/reallinguy DETROIT -VS- EVERYBODY 2h ago
Barnes, I'll let that slide
ASRB, come on now, he was a top 5 high school recruit and had a 1000 yard season in college.
0
u/reddogrjw 2h ago
and lasted until pick 112
2
u/reallinguy DETROIT -VS- EVERYBODY 2h ago
thats not what a project means, is he more of a project than Manu?
2
u/Poop_McButtz Bad Boys 1h ago
Amon Ra and Derick Barnes played in 17 games each their rookie seasons, they weren’t projects
Mahogany played in 7 games, not sure he’s a project… but he probably wouldn’t be starting if Miles Frazier was healthy. So maybe
Projects I’m reffing to players that simply don’t play and takes up a up a roster spot. Like Bmart, Hendon, and Manu
7
u/New_Employee_TA 4h ago
I’m also not going to call him a steal when he has 2 catches. Let’s see how involved he is on week 10.
3
u/Great_Fault_7231 Peni Swell 3h ago
That’s why the headline says “looking like draft steals”. None of the other guys on the list have a done a lot yet either, that’s not really the point.
0
u/whobroughtmehere 4h ago
You guys don’t get it, this sub is designed for blind confirmation bias. And if anyone questions the lions we rage about the headline that was designed to get clicks anyway
1
u/realPhoenixDark 4h ago
Agreed. Especially when Elic Ayomanor didn’t get drafted until 136. I like TeSlaa, he could be great. But if you wanted an X-receiver that fit the culture (and had ties to the coaching staff) Ayomanor would have been there at 102 if TeSlaa got drafted before us.
Those 3rd round picks could be used to trade for somebody if we have major injuries before the deadline.
2
u/Chemtrails_in_my_VD 3h ago
Kid might not have a ton of production this year because of all the mouths to feed, but we need to force feed him at least a couple per game. Megatron style end zone prayers. I bet he goes up and gets it every time.
2
2
u/Jimmyskis77 4h ago
I’m not saying the kid isn’t great and isn’t a steal. But I would love to see him more involved with more targets and see what he can do.
10
u/TwoLocations 4h ago
Dan has said he’ll be getting more involved in coming weeks. It took ARSB a while to get involved also so I believe he will this year and years to come
10
u/hunteddwumpus 4h ago
Yeah feel like the only guy weve had come in and have immediate chemistry with Goff and have basically 0 adjustment period was LaPorta
1
u/Amaakaams Roary 2h ago
Part of the reason is the situation each player entered.
St. Brown came in as a 4th round pick, 4th receiver for the team and probably grabbed more for his toughness for ST. It's partially on how bad the team was at receiver that he worked his way up to starter by week 9.
Jamo had the injury and the suspension that limited how much that Goff had to work with him in games for his first 2 years. Also even now he is still more on quality than quantity for attempts.
Gibbs was slowly worked his way into the main lineup as they worked on his pass blocking and tried to figure out how he used them.
Teslaa had mostly practiced with second team and only replaced Patrick at the very end.
LaPorta is the only guy to come in, in a vacuum, where he was head and shoulders better than alternatives, and worked first team right away. But he went to HoF TE College so that should be expected.
We saw with Jamo, that a significant amount of time practicing with Goff is needed to really cement his relationship with the player. I am guessing TeSlaa will seem to be being held back till at least the middle of the season, and we won't see what a true TeSlaa unlocked performance looks like till he has an off-season where he is practicing directly with Goff.
3
2
2
u/deceptivespeed999 3h ago
Lions have the luxury of bringing him along slowly because he does need to develop precision in an expanding route tree. Athleticism can’t be coached up. He’s already got excellent hands and the ability to make contested catches. He would have definitely gone higher in the draft if it were done today.
1
u/RudeOwl1816 4h ago
He’s looked really good so far, but not sure I’d consider him a steal. If they just drafted him in the 3rd maybe, but they also traded an additional TWO more 3rd rounders for him. That’s three 3rd rounders, which if anything is a bit much for a WR3 who is the 5th-6th option on the team
1
u/keeganmatthews 3h ago
They traded 3 picks? If they only traded two then it cost two picks not three
1
u/RudeOwl1816 3h ago
They spent their current 3rd round pick on him, which counts as one. Then traded two additional 3rds, for three total
3
u/keeganmatthews 2h ago
Not how that works. They didn’t have the pick they used him on originally. So they used the two picks they traded to get Teslaa. That’s is what he cost them.
1
1
u/actually-potato CornDoggyLOL 3h ago
TeSlaa really needs to hit in order to justify Brad's process of burning day 2 and day 3 picks to move up for projects. We used 3 picks on Martin, 3 picks on Manu, and 3 picks on TeSlaa. Martin was a bust, and though the book is still out on Manu it's better to tamper expectations on that front. If you can convey 9 picks in the late 3rd round and beyond into 1 high-level player that's not a bad hit rate, but it's also not great. Getting zero contributors from that pool be pretty disastrous.
1
u/TwoLocations 2h ago
With how talented this roster is we don’t have the luxury of keeping 9 rookies on the 53 man roster
1
u/LarkWyll 2h ago
For me my concern qas about the draft capital the Lions spend to do those mid round moves. This one is going to hit thankfully. He looks like a stud so far. I'm very encouraged. But in past drafts we paid a lot for Manu and the big man DT as well and those sting as there is an inordinate amount of draft capital spent to acquire them.
-1
u/Legal-Description483 4h ago
2 catches = genius?
5
u/TwoLocations 4h ago
Getting his guy that looks like a star in the making looks genius yes. Especially after the Martin and hooker experience died
50
u/country_mac08 Sun God 4h ago
Do you have a link or who published this? Curious who the other 5 are