Detroit Lions Biggest Offseason Winner Poised For Breakout 2026 Season

The Detroit Lions feature a wide receivers unit that is expected to be among the best in the National Football League.

After steadily gaining the trust of the coaching staff and his teammates, second-year wideout Isaac TeSlaa has made a name for himself early in his career.

He was the real offseason winner, showcasing his development and growth at the position all throughout the spring.

Coaches have expressed he is ahead of schedule in his development and Dan Campbell praised the former third-round pick for his no-nonsense approach.

“He is just steady, he’s steady, he is consistent for a young guy, he doesn’t get frazzled. I mean this as a compliment, what he’s done out here is in the spring, Phase II, OTAs and all of that," said Campbell. "There’s been nothing like flashy about it, and that is a good thing.”

Receivers coach Scottie Montgomery praised TeSlaa for his added strength and for giving veteran Jared Goff even bigger windows to throw the football, since he is winning more off the line of scrimmage with quickness and length.

“Short-area quickness was something that we wanted to improve and that gives him the ability in those one-on-one situations and not just win with length, but to win with quickness and length. That gives of course J.G. just an even bigger window to throw the football," said Montgomery. "He’s done a good job of going and getting the football since he’s been here and then now at the top of his breaks, they’re so much cleaner. He’s so much stronger.

“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," Montgomery added. "He had some knee soreness last year. This year he came in, was able to work on the things before and not after. So we look forward to him really, really growing.”

Additional Detroit Lions Insider Analysis: Wide Receivers 2026 Roster Bubble

Highlight catches

Appearing on NFL Network's "Good Morning Football" last month, the talented wideout shared how he became so adept at circus-type catches.

Several of TeSlaa's grabs during his first season in Motown were highlight-reel worthy.

“Me and my dad would do this routine,” TeSlaa explained. “Every single day, we had like a 30-minute to an hour routine of me just catching different balls. I think that really just contributed, like all those repetitions of me just getting catches off balance. It led to me being able to do it in big moments like that.”

He would regularly work with his father to simulate in-game situations, regularly practicing stationary catch drills, one-handed grabs and throws coming in from off-angles.

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