DetNews roundup: Kafka, Blake Miller, TeSlaa

The Den
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# Why Lions were right fit for new passing game coordinator Mike Kafka
full article at link

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Kafka, 38, could be the mastermind behind some play-calling creativity in Detroit come the 2026 season. But, more importantly, he’s tasked with helping offensive coordinator Drew Petzing orchestrate an efficient passing attack on a down-to-down basis.

A potential candidate for offensive coordinator openings around the league this past offseason, Kafka said the Lions were best for him at this point in his career because of the culture he felt after meeting with coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes, as well as his familiarity with a couple of pieces on offense; Petzing was on the coaching staff in Minnesota when Kafka played for the Vikings in 2015, and now-backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was then Minnesota’s starter.

“There’s some good collaboration there that’s easy to kind of work through,” Kafka said. “That’s one of the best parts about this organization right now … is it’s a great quarterback room. You’re able to sit there and talk it out and work it out and get problems solved.”

Lions quarterback Jared Goff has been near the top of the league from a statistical standpoint since coming over from the Los Angeles Rams in 2021, ranking second in passing yards (21,451), third in passing touchdowns (149) and fifth in completion rate (67.9%) among qualified players (minimum 500 passing attempts) over the last five seasons.

“Being in the room with Jared, he’s phenomenal,” Kafka said. "He’s one of those guys who I had a ton of respect for from the outside. You look at him, this guy is like a sniper. He’s into it, he’s got great command in the huddle, at the line of scrimmage. He’s so accurate. I didn’t really realize how accurate he was until being out here and seeing the anticipation, the velocity, the timing, the ball placement, all those things that go into the pass game.

“Watching him operate has been really impressive.”

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# Lions minicamp observations: Why Blake Miller is impressing coach
full article at link

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:play_button: Rookie offensive tackle Blake Miller, who’s been part of a rotation with veteran Larry Borom for first-team reps, was with the starters for the majority of 11-on-11 work Tuesday.

“I like where he’s at,” offensive line coach Hank Fraley said of Miller, a first-round pick out of Clemson. "It’s not perfect, he’s making some mistakes here and there, but the impression I’ve gotten, though, is that he’s coachable. … He’s able to adjust and clean that up, and that’s what you want to see with anybody.

“If you tweak something, do they revert back to what you just tweaked, or do they move forward…and work on the next thing? … That’s why I like where he’s at. He’s willing, he’s hungry, he’s quiet, he listens from myself, from whoever’s coaching him, he’s taking it all in.”

:play_button: Offensive lineman Christian Mahogany by no means has the starting left guard job under lock and key, but he’s taken the majority of his reps this spring with the first team, and it seems as though it’ll be his job to lose entering training camp.

But Campbell implied his up-and-down play last season was the reason they were aggressive in pursuing other reserve options, such as Juice Scruggs and Bartch, who will undoubtedly have every chance to overtake Mahogany in the starting lineup.

“We know he’s got ability, he’s got potential, but there’s a reason why we brought in Bartch, there’s a reason why (Miles) Frazier’s here. There’s a reason why all those guys are in there. We may try (Giovanni) Manu a little bit,” Campbell said. “We are going to let this thing go and see what happens. It’ll be good for all of them. When you have someone nipping at your heels … it’s good for everybody.”

:play_button: Undrafted rookie edge Anthony Lucas and reserve tackle Devin Cochran got into a heated, physical exchange during walk-through drills. One week after Lucas was lauded by Lions coaches, he showed a little bit of the mean streak that has likely contributed to his good start.

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:play_button: Dortch, Kennedy and Pacheco were the primary punt returners during the final drill of practice.

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# Lions’ Isaac TeSlaa ready to make leap for ‘lofty goals’
full article at link

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He knows everybody’s name now. So even before Isaac TeSlaa steps foot in the building these days, the second-year pro already feels like he’s ahead of the game, at least compared to his rookie season.

The names and the faces are no longer new. And even though the Lions’ offensive coordinator is this spring, TeSlaa will tell you his understanding of the playbook — and his sense of place on this NFL roster — is a far cry from where it was a year ago.

“I wouldn’t say it’s relaxing, because in football you can never really relax,” said TeSlaa, the Hudsonville native who was a surprise third-round draft selection out of Arkansas last spring. “I mean, you’ve got to have an edge about you. But it’s just a lot more comfortable, and I feel like I’m able to play a little bit faster. I’m doing a lot less thinking this year.”

And if you think about it, that’s probably for the best, coming on the heels of a rookie season that was never going to meet outside expectations. Not after general manager Brad Holmes made another bold move on Day 2 of last year’s draft, trading three third-round picks to move up 32 picks and select TeSlaa, the former Hillsdale College standout who’d actually worn a custom Lions jersey with his name on it — a gift he’d gotten in eighth grade — to his pre-draft visit in Allen Park.

TeSlaa flashed some of the raw talent that enticed Holmes and the Lions’ scouts last fall, making some highlight-reel catches and finishing with six touchdown receptions, which ranked second only to Carolina’s Tet McMillan, a top-10 pick, among rookie receivers across the league.

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… And, really, you could see that coming even late last season, once Dan Campbell took over the play-calling duties on offense and got the rookie wideout more involved, especially after the Lions lost tight end Sam LaPorta to season-ending back surgery.

“His growth took off, and he got a little bit better every week,” Campbell said of TeSlaa, who played more than 60% of the offensive snaps from Thanksgiving through Week 18. “He became a guy, by the end of the year, that we had a lot of trust in.”

This spring, it’s continuing to grow. And when Campbell says “there’s been nothing flashy” about TeSlaa’s play, “I mean that as a compliment,” the coach adds, smiling. “He’s just steady, he’s consistent for a young guy and he doesn’t get frazzled.”

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TeSlaa can feel the trust building, too, for what it’s worth. Yet while he appreciates hearing some of the praise Campbell threw his way Tuesday before Day 1 of the Lions’ two-day mandatory minicamp in Allen Park, “I don’t want to hang my hat on that and say, ‘Oh, I’ve done a good job.’”

“I always want to have an edge about me and kind of have that mentality of being a rookie, where you’ve got to do everything the right way in order for the coaches to notice you,” he said. “Once they notice you, then you’ve got to keep building on those things and making plays, and then they’ll be comfortable with you.”

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https://x.com/DetroitOnLion/status/2067300079912865967?s=20

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I hadn’t heard that anecdote before. Baller move.

And to think that dude is the second-best leg we have on the team.

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I remember it from the post-draft coverage.

What I still don’t understand is how a 6-4 WR can wear a jersey that fit him when he was like 13.

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I was 6’2 as a freshman in high school, i am still 6’2 (possibly starting to shrink)… it happens

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Semi chub on that tweet about legatron

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Buying a Miller jersey, any thoughts on which one and where from? If I don’t have it by August 29 in INDY, I’ll be wearing a Laporta jersey. Doesn’t matter where my seats are I’ll be hanging in the open end zone at a table. I used to go to baseball preseason almost every year, never seen an NFL preseason game, last game so hopefully we will get the starters out there for a quarter or two.

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I live in indy so i will be there too. Will wait till day before to buy tickets. Preseason in indy tickets will be cheap.

Will be wearing my hutch 97 jersey

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