Yep before he blew up at the senior bowl I was in on him
I think year 1 he may be a solid player(and people will love their gd minds) then in year 2 is when he really shines
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All things you said above are true regarding Teslaa as a player & prospect
I think the biggest things for me are:
A) The trade the way I view it is much more favorable to us than most people view the trade
B) this is the guy Brad Holmes wanted in the same round as Cooper Kupp who he drafted out of Eastern Washington
C) It is for a premier offensive position WR. Just like Hooker at QB and Manu at LT. If you are taking shots for these type of guys you hope to develop at premier positions I donāt think it is ever a bad idea
D) First reaction when it was Teslaa when Tory Horton was on the board was like oooooh wow. But bottom line is it seems like Denver was going to be in on Teslaa round 3 ā¦. And Horton didnāt go until round 6.
E) We have dawgs in place in our WR room where we can ease him in and develop him
F) Patrick & Leaf still have 1-2 years left on them. We donāt need anything from him until 2026/2027 season. Itās the reasons why I wanted Horton & Lahjontay. Brad wanted Teslaa & Lovett for those two spots. The future looks bright for our WR depth
G) Jamo insurance
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It was back in January I was talking about him(at the time a later Rd prospect)
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With both being free agents after 2025ā¦ I hope the rookie gets his feet wet this year. Doesnāt need to be playing a lot. But have a few packages for him. He should at the very least be a core special teamer in year 1. He does have the size and speed that could be helpful in the red zone even in year 1.
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If āhomer stuffā means that Iāve both watched enough of him to know he can do it, AND that Iāve literally watched him do it in the past before he was on everyoneās radar as a prospectā¦
Then Iām one hell of a homer.
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Stop route.
Dig route.
Deep over.
go routeā¦. even if just the sacrificial āXā role.
There is plenty of value in a limited route tree when a dude is 6ā3ā tall and fastā¦ and blocks well. 
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Did Bradās recap go like this?
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Ive looked for this gif so many times
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I wonder who āYou coolā is. Rogers? Reisman?
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Iām guessing itās @QBHATER90
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Iāve used this in my life quite frequently.
Less so now that Iām the boss and most of my employees were toddlers or not even born when this movie came out.
ā¦& single coverage
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While my draft nerd heart hates giving up any picks, I agree that it wasnāt as egregious a cost as most people are making it out to be. We already know two of the 3rd rounders we gave them were at the very end of the round - basically 4th rounders - and I suspect our other 3rd rounder will be as well. Iām sure thatās what Brad is banking on at least. And the two 6th rounders we got in return are more valuable in Bradās hands than in anyone elseās.
It turns out Hortonās injury was worse than first reported, bone on bone issue. His career might be very short.
Perhaps as it pertains to keeping the corps from getting decimated, but heās definitely not a like-for-like replacement. Heās not gonna strike fear in the hearts of defenses the way Jamo does, but heās gonna come down with contested catches a lot more often.
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This phrase makes me think that Valentineās Day is completely missing the boat.
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Totally feel you on that! The trade doesnāt seem as rough as some make it out to be. Having Teslaa develop behind the vets is smart, especially with Hortonās injury concerns. Iām curious to see how he fits into the mix, especially on special teams. Excited for the season!
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Panic may not be the word for it, but he has āhis guysā that he loves so much that he will take them and spend lots of capital to go get them before anyone else does. What it certainly isnāt, is playing the board, taking the BPA and being patient. I do think Brad gets a little high on his own supply, but the results overall have been better than the average bear, so for me he gets the overall benefit of the doubt.
It sure pains me while itās happening though, so thatās why I totally ignored the pre-draft stuff that forever has filled my months before the draft. I just know whoever I want, Iām not going to get, while he takes a guy who is supposed to go two rounds later and the very next team gets my guy. I know a first round NT sure as hades wouldnāt have been on my bingo card. So why get worked upā¦
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Dalvin Tomlinson is 31yo NT and just landed a $14.5 million AAV deal in free agencyā¦ and his career high is 3.5 sacks.
Plusā¦ Holmes mentioned that he doesnāt see Williams scrictly as a NT.
He mentioned after the draftā¦
āAlim came in to the league more NT-ishā¦. then slimmed his body down. I think he (Tyleik) is coming in more closer to that now.ā
Andā¦ Holmes saidā¦ āI think I said it when we drafted Alimā¦ he looks like a NT, but he can play 3-techniqueā¦. and Tyleik is the same way.ā
andā¦. āif you watch the tape, he is a 3 down playerāā¦.
āHe looks like a NTā¦ but heās NOT one of those one-dimensional NTsāā¦.
.
.
Some very average DTs just made $15-25 million AAV in UFA this offseasonā¦ and I think that 9 DTs getting selected in the top 63 picks also speaks to the value the NFL is placing on the interior of the DL right now.
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I think people are not understanding Brad at times, he has his guys that fit and he goes get them. DE I think Brad Like what Ahmad brings to the table, everyone myself included wanted one higher, but it sounds like there was only a couple guys he truely liked, most of the guys that were taken between 2 -6 were not rated by Holmes any higher then Almad. Like St Brown when we took him in the 4th, Iāll bet this guy is the surprise in the draft, Brad knew like St Brown that he could get this guy later and he was a perfect fit and as good as many others taken before him.
While most here donāt expect much from him , I think he plays more then most think, dude had almost 70 pressures. Play with his hair on fire.
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This is a question Iāve discussed with friends. Not only did TeSlaaās teammate out produce him. He basically doubled his production. Armstrong led the SEC in receptions and then went undrafted. So why did TeSlaa go so high at half the production?
Armstrong had serious character concerns. He had the talent to go on Day two but his character concerns and overall attitude hurt his stock.
TeSlaa wasnāt even on the Lions draft radar before the bowl games. He caught the Lions eye there and Brad fell in love with the kid. He was afraid another team would take him. The scouting department knew some teams had a 4th round grade on him. Truth is we will never know how high or low he might have went but there was debate that he would still be there and they didnāt need to trade up to get him but Brad wanted him regardless.
With that in mind what people donāt realize is Brad fell in love with Levi and was wanting to trade up into round one to get him. Brad was willing to give up his 3rd and 4th round picks to do it. That means no McNeil and no ARSB. John Dorsey (along with others) convinced him he didnāt need to trade away those picks to get him. Brad listened under the pressure of others. With the picks of McNeil, and ARSB Brad became a legion. Had he made that trade we might view Brad differently.
Back to TeSlaa and why the Lions like him. The Lions know they need to get bigger on the outside. They know their offense has some struggles in the redzone and they contribute that to size. They need a player who can be a factor on a shorter field. TeSlaa has everything the Lions want in a WR. Size, speed, blocking ability, and character. The Lions know heās a project but arenāt worried about his lack of production. Why?
Well you have to look back to the Arkansas roster and see that they had a rotation of players opposite Armstrong and TeSlaa wasnāt the guy they expected to get that much playing time. Mainly because he came from such a small school. They had Isiah Satega and Tyrone Boden ahead of him on depth chart.
Isiah was the guy the Razorbacks were grooming to be their top WR after Armstrong left for the NFL but he was so unhappy with how Arkansas offense is that he transferred out to Oklahoma.
Boden was expected to get a ton of playing time. He had a lot of talent but injuries kept derailing his chances and unfortunately for them he never got it going. But he was so talented he signed as an UDFA even after putting up less than 200 yards.
These two guys and the state of the offense and QB made it hard for TeSlaa to get opportunities. So no one was noticing TeSlaa. He was on no oneās radar. He wasnāt getting a combine invite and would likely go undrafted. Then the bowl games happened. TeSlaa stood out in the bowl games (Hula and Senior) and ended up getting a combine invite. We all know what he did at the combine. Suddenly his stock was on the rise. He went from an UDFA prospect to a mid draft prospect. With his stock on the rise and the Lions knowing teams had a 4th round grade on him Brad was worried he could get drafted in round 3. There are other factors at play too that lead to the Lions selecting him but Iāll leave those out for now. All these factors convinced them they needed to moved up and grab him.
I think expectations are too high on the kid due to where he was drafted. Heās not going to start, heās a project, and itās going to take time for him to live up to his draft stock. However I think he can be a plus factor for the Lions. Especially on a short field and in the endzone. I would be gappy if he puts up 300-400 yards and 2-4TDās as rookie.
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We are paying Reader 13M this year. We are also paying Lopez 3.6M. We also invested a 3rd rounder in BroMart. But after 16.6M in FA NTās and a 3rd round NTā¦ we still needed to drop our 1st round pick on one? I mean good luck on the tush push butā¦ cāmon man!