Allen Park — Oddly enough, the most enlightening reason as to why Detroit Lions receiver Isaac TeSlaa didn’t receive more targets as a rookie came from a man who never coached him.
Bears coach and former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson was asked last November if he planned to dial up some more “50-50 opportunities” — when a quarterback throws it up to a covered receiver with the goal of beating the defender at the catch point, rather than during the route.
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“I’m not a big (fan of) 50-50 balls, to be honest with you,” Johnson said. “I think you can look at my track record of calling games (in Detroit), and we liked to get guys open a little bit more than just throwing it up for grabs.
That’s not really what we want to be about.”
This is still at the core of Detroit’s offensive philosophy.
Last season, the majority of TeSlaa’s highlight reel catches came with either a defender draped all over him or directly in his grill, trying to rip and jar the ball loose. When he wasn’t fighting through contact, he was often stretching and diving as far as he possibly could to haul in a throw that quarterback Jared Goff was simply trying to keep out of harm’s way.
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After racking up six dazzling touchdowns and 14.1 yards per catch over 16 receptions and 239 yards last season, it’s clear TeSlaa has NFL hands and physicality. His next step is to get open.
“Short-area quickness was something that we wanted to improve and that gives him the ability in those one-on-one situations and not just win with length, but to win with quickness and length,” Lions receivers coach and assistant head coach Scottie Montgomery said.
“That gives, of course, [Goff] just an even bigger window to throw the football. He’s done a good job of going and getting the football since he’s been here, and then now at the top of his breaks, they’re so much cleaner.”
Asked about his early impressions of TeSlaa, new Lions passing game coordinator Mike Kafka noted, among other things, that the second-year receiver “can run through contact,” which is another obvious benefit to getting him more non-contested catches. Combined with the 4.43-second 40-yard dash he recorded at the 2025 NFL Combine, TeSlaa’s upside with the ball in his hands is sky high and almost completely untapped.
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More: Why Lions were right fit for new passing game coordinator Mike Kafka
Lions defensive backs coach Deshea Townsend shed further insight on TeSlaa’s development. Rather than going max speed all the time, TeSlaa has become more in tune with his tempo and physicality to win his reps on the route.
“You see him adding some repertoire to his route-running game that’s going to make him even more effective. Because he can run by and he can high-point it, but now when he adds the running the route part, it’s only going to make him a better player,” Townsend said. “… He’s becoming a much better route runner.”
None of this means that the Lions will completely abandon those types of throws to TeSlaa altogether. Third-down and red-zone scenarios leave plenty of room for him to flex his jump-ball ability. As the rapport between Goff and TeSlaa continues to develop, it’s even possible that Goff becomes more comfortable with throwing those types of passes.
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But when you look at TeSlaa’s speed and athleticism, it’s clear he can be so much more.
And the Lions are making it a priority to get him there.
nbianchi@detroitnews.com
@nolanbianchi
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Isaac TeSlaa charting path to earn more targets from Lions’ Jared Goff
