I was under the impression that TeSlaa was weak on the route-running and separation front.
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He is, for now.
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@Doctor_Love & @Thats2
I agree, especially on the route-running part. The separation part, I’m not so sure of. Yes…route-running is massively beneficial in creating separation, but in college, there were plenty of plays where he got separation.
I think he gets to learn 2 things
-Route Running (clearly)
-When to use “hulk smash” energy, and when to use athleticism to escape.
Think if there is a guy that takes the sidelines all the time…you do your best to get a good angle, and let the sideline tackle him (push him out with a light bump). You are essentially prepared for a foot race. What if that guy instead lowers the shoulder and blows you the ■■■■ up & keeps on running, because you were expecting a foot race? Inverse is true. People prepping to break down and make a form tackle, bracing for impact, and then he just outruns them. Like Chapelle says about his buddy Chip → Chip took off…but the other guy didn’t even know he was racin’. LOL.
I think his ceiling is very, very high. I can see him getting very good at catching 50/50 balls, running great routes, retaining what he already has and improving upon his blocking, and being a great decoy.
Love this pickup for our team.
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His ceiling is certainly high, I won’t dispute that. And he has the capability of improving his route-running (and separation) based on his testing, he’s just not there yet. He also really struggles with press coverage, which to me was the reason he played the bulk of his snaps from the slot. He has no release package, something he’ll have to develop if he wants to play outside.
Clearly our staff believes he can, and I won’t doubt them. He’s just not there yet. Thankfully there could be some legitimate reasons for that (still relatively new to the position, a lot of changeover to the offensive staff at Arkansas, could win with juice alone at Hillsdale, etc…), and the fact that we saw fit to pay so much for him means there’s probably something to them. So that gives me confidence as well.
I don’t dislike the pick, and there are clearly a lot of things to like about him specific to us. The blocking, the mentality, the position fit, the overall athleticism. All great. But he IS a raw piece of clay who will need to improve certain aspects of his game before he really hits. I have faith that he will too, but time will tell.
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This podcaster calls him the “baby” of Jamo + Laporta, just to keep the comp in-house. I’ll take it.
He’s a chess piece and match up nightmare, in time. He moves to WR3 as quickly as next season.
He’s Brad’s on record draft crush of this year’s WR class and he did what it took to acquire him, no apologies.
He is also an offensive response to what division teams did in the draft. They stock up on pass catchers, we do too. Our D will be better but our O will still win us the games, all gas no brakes.
I’ll take it, especially if this draft means we never get outmatched in smash mouth time, run blocking, and ST play.
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Yeah the press coverage issue showed up when you watched him at Senior Bowl practices. Definitely something he needs to work on.
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One of many instances I learn from and/or see things from a different angel because of you guys. It’s what I most like in here…we
well…that and the humor.
100% - and plenty enough reason for me.
Nico Collins was the ceiling comparison Jeff Risdon made on his podcast yesterday too. That would work, but I don’t want to cap TeSlaa.
From watching some of the few deep catches he had at Arkansas, he seems to track the ball like elite receivers do. I’ve seen too many deep throws where Jamo doesn’t adjust in time to smoothly meet the ball, especially when contested. Jared will sometimes throw the ball to safer open areas rather than to the exact arc of the route. I think TeSlaa will adjust to those passes in ways that Jamo hasn’t shown yet.
One thing Risdon mentioned was that TeSlaa played big slot rather than WR at Arkansas because he didn’t get off the line cleanly, despite elite agility scores. Once he learns to do that, take the cap off of the Nico Collins comp.
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I posted the video below simply to isolate the incredible hands, positioning and timing at the catch point that TeSlaa already has. The defenders he encounters are nothing at all like he’ll see in NFL. It’s spring and all things are possible, so enjoy it:
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He has undeniably excellent skills at the catch point, for sure
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Wow, he’s gonna be fun to watch.
He has a little Chase Claypool resemblence to me. And Chase was physically talented but had character baggage or he could have been good. I don’t think Telsaa is quite as big but I think they both bloc and both big contested catch winners with some juice downfield. Both tested well. Teslaa might have better hands actually.
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Think he’s going to be a really great blocker too
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I think this was the season he plays with a broken hand, doesn’t miss a game, and gets promoted to the SEC. Now we expect him to be a WR5 that moves up to WR2 or 3 in time.
Looking at the guys that were drafted before him, Tet McMillan was the only similar size and measurables comp. Tet was drafted as a WR1 and outside receiver.
TeSlaa was used in the slot a ton so he will be able to contribute in many more ways than Tet, including ST. We wouldn’t have drafted him where we did if ST and blocking weren’t such a developed part of his game.
Our O will still be better than the bears, pack, and vikes with all their toys because our O will keep them on the sidelines.
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Yeah, EV can just plug in and contribute as he is able to as a rook. He should add some extra juice in pressuring defenses – with Goff in full command of an offense that has been on fire for a few seasons now. I don’t expect that to change. The OL will continue to open holes and get to the second level. The RBs will continue to gash defenses. The play action pass will continue to exploit defenses, and EV will be getting one-on-one looks and be able to exploit them better than Patrick does. And, like you say, he is a moveable chess piece.
On the flip side, if the defense continues to be very stout against the run, that forces opposing offenses to be more one-dimensional. And we have the LBs and secondary to hold up against a strong passing attack – and a healthy Hutch to speed up the clock in the QBs head. If they can get production at RDE, the defense will be golden.
I do see the Lions to repeat as the Kings of the North. And Teslaa will, I think, move the speedometer forward a bit. Really looking forward to see what he can bring.
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That D2 QB is horrible damn
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But excellent at forcing TeSlaa to demonstrate his talents.
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This doesn’t belong here but i just saw Savion Williams was drafted by GB in the 3rd round. DAMN! I really liked him and GB of all teams got him.
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Packers reloading
They probably won’t keep Dobbs or Watson
Or neither
Player comp for me is, nobody.
I’ve not seen a guy like him before. Is fast, but on film doesn’t look like he’s running fast.
10 years from now hopefully they’re doing case studies on EV
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