It’s a new day in Detroit as the Lions work to replace former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and recapture the magic of their league-best offense displayed over the last several NFL seasons. While Week 1 of the 2025 campaign didn’t spark an excess of confidence, a young talent seems like he’s working his way up the depth chart for the NFC contenders — enter Isaac TeSlaa, who officially placed himself on fantasy football watchlists in an ideal situation to produce.
While most teams’ third wide receivers don’t belong in fantasy football lineups, TeSlaa might just have the juice to contribute in his rookie season. After hauling in an impressive touchdown in Week 1, is Isaac TeSlaa a must-add on the fantasy waiver wire going into Week 2?
Is Isaac TeSlaa a must-add on the waiver wire?
The casual NFL fan likely found themselves asking, “WHO?” when the Lions traded up to select TeSlaa in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Arkansas product dominated lower-level college football before transferring to the SEC program in 2023, but he posted just 62 catches for 896 yards and five touchdowns during his two seasons with the team. With such little production at the collegiate level, why did Detroit trade their 2024 third-rounder as well as two future selections in the same round to take the 23-year-old?
It seems general manager Brad Holmes fell in love with the young wideout’s potential, calling him his favorite receiver in the draft class. At 6-foot-4 and 214 pounds, the 4.43 40-yard dash and 39.5-inch vertical TeSlaa posted at the Draft Combine certainly create a unique blend of size and athletic ability that few other players boast. He earned some hype from the coaching staff throughout the preseason slate with a couple of long receptions, and after hauling in his lone target for a a ridiculous touchdown catch in Week 1, head coach Dan Campbell said he’d like to get the rookie third-rounder more involved in the offense moving forward.
TeSlaa only saw the field on three plays in Week 1, but all three of those snaps took place in the red zone and he made the most of his limited opportunities. After his highlight moment in his professional debut with 8.3 fantasy points, should fantasy managers add the rookie off the waiver wire?
The verdict
Projecting much fantasy football production from a team’s WR3 feels like a very difficult proposition in most cases. Doing so for a rookie wide receiver who lacks standout pedigree at even the collegiate level becomes even more improbable.
Somehow, neither of those factors seem to matter in this case.
TeSlaa likely won’t become a fantasy football star, but there’s a case for him as one of the top waivers adds for Week 2 in leagues where he’s available. The Lions’ offense did look poor in Week 1 during their first action under new offensive coordinator John Morton, who replaced Ben Johnson over the offseason. It’s only a one-game sample though, and Detroit simply deploys too much talent for this offense to sputter with just 13 points every week as they did against the Green Bay Packers — a team which projects as a true Super Bowl contender largely on the back of the defense.
Don’t expect TeSlaa to see a large target share, especially with teammates Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Sam LaPorta and Jahmyr Gibbs on the field. With that said, TeSlaa can potentially see some spike weeks as a deep threat for Jared Goff, and it’s easy to see a world where the team does scheme up some designed looks for him both in the open field and the red zone. The rookie looks like a real physical mismatch against most defensive backs even though his route-running could use some development.
In an offense which should once again rank among the 10 best units in football, fantasy football players can do far worse than adding TeSlaa on the Week 2 waiver wire. He’s a high-upside add for later on in the fantasy season.
