Exciting Isaac TeSlaa still fired up by opportunity to star for favorite team

When the Detroit Lions drafted Isaac TeSlaa, the biggest story revolved around how he was a long time fan of the franchise from Michigan. Since, a bit of that excitement has worn off on the fanbase.

Heading into the 2025 season, the focus has been more on what type of impact TeSlaa can be expected to have as a rookie. No matter what role he plays, TeSlaa remains full of excitement and wonder as he attacks the daily grind of training camp and joining his favorite football team.

Does TeSlaa want to completely forget about the little boy who grew up a Lions fan now that he is playing for the team as a professional? Not exactly. In fact, he wants that experience to continue to motivate him to reach new highs as a player on the field.

"I don't think I want it to wear off. I want to come out here with that kind of gratitude and appreciation every single day. Obviously, when I'm out there grinding, (I'm) not necessarily thinking 'Oh man, if I was a kid.' I'm just thinking about making the plays that we've been talking about in the meeting rooms that we've been practicing. For me, I want to have that heart. That's the way I want to play the game."

TeSlaa is getting to live the dream that thousands of folks have had through the years, and it's clear that he still considers himself as supremely blessed. The fact that he hasn't lost his excitement and motivation with regards to this is fantastic.

Isaac TeSlaa downplays his early impact on Lions' deep passing game

Already during practices, TeSlaa has been impressing with his ability to track deep balls and make quality catches. Jared Goff has looked TeSlaa's way a few times and has seen some impressive plays made down the field. It's been a very exciting early development for the Lions.

In spite of this, TeSlaa is not overrating his or anyone else's impact on the deep passing game. As he explained, the impact is everyone's to make, and John Morton will call the number of any player at his disposal in order to open things up for the entire offense.

"The biggest thing for the vertical passing game is every other thing you have to do well in order to open that up. You can't have a vertical passing game if you don't have a run game, if you don't have that short passing game. It all ties in together, just utilizing everyone on the offense. You think of Jameson (Williams) as a deep threat, you sometimes think of those bigger guys as the deeper threats, but even smaller guys like Kalif (Raymond), we use those guys as deep threats as well. It's just a whole dynamic of everyone going out and doing their job."

So far, TeSlaa has been excelling at doing his job with the Lions. Whatever impact he's asked to make this year, count on him finding a way to step up and play well. With a grateful, excited attitude, there's no telling what he may be able to do as a rookie.