Lions WR 83 Jackson Meeks had his best performance of the preseason on Saturday with 7 receptions for 93 yards and TD. He got open early and often against the Dolphins. Nice job here on the out. #OnePride pic.twitter.com/ELZSO1anAR

— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) August 20, 2025

Last Saturday, we saw the Detroit Lions drop to a 1-2 record in the preseason after losing 24-17 to the Miami Dolphins. While losing the preseason game is somewhat disappointing, it’s worth noting that the Lions dominated in their joint practices with the Dolphins. That’s encouraging, especially since we saw little to no starters play for the Lions on Saturday. Knowing that starters such as Aidan Hutchinson, Amon-Ra St. Brown and others dominated all week, it’s music to our ears.

Despite having depth players on the field for Saturday and losing the game, it wasn’t all bad. There were encouraging signs from multiple players such as Kyle Allen, Jacob Saylors, Sione Vaki and Nick Whiteside. I’ve said it all summer that wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa has been the Lions best “non-starter” and that continued against the Dolphins. Staying in the wide receiver room, we saw a very strong outing from rookie wide receiver Jackson Meeks.

Having his best performance on the summer, Meeks finished with 7 receptions for 93 yards and a touchdown. This helped boost his preseason stats up to 11 receptions for 176 yards and two touchdowns. His average of 16.0 yards per reception is highest of any Lions pass catcher this preseason. All positive signs for the undrafted rookie out of Georgia. Let’s dive into the film room to look at some of the tape from Meeks’ performance against the Dolphins!

Starting with the first play of the game from the Lions, we go to the play above. The Lions come out in a Twins Left formation with their ’11’ personnel (one running back and one tight end). At the bottom of the screen, you’ll see Jackson Meeks (83) and Isaac TeSlaa (18) bunched together.

One the ball is snapped, you’ll see TeSlaa run vertically and break towards the sideline on a corner route after about 12 yards. Meanwhile, you’ll see Meeks break to the sideline on a quick out and without hesitation, quarterback Kyle Allen finds Meeks easily. This leads to an easy completion and some yards after the catch.

Love this post-corner concept from the Lions in the red zone. They motion in WR 83 Jackson Meeks and he runs the corner route. TE 84 Shane Zylstra sprays the post route to take the CB and S with him. Meeks is left wide open for the TD. #OnePride pic.twitter.com/EmfzKSTQYJ

— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) August 20, 2025

The next and final play I want to focus on is the touchdown reception from Meeks. On the play above, you’ll see the Lions aligned in a 2×2 set with their ’11’ personnel (one running back and one tight end). At the top of the screen, you’ll see Meeks (83) and prior to the snap, he’s uses a glide motion to be snug with tight end Shane Zylstra (84).

Once the ball is snapped, Zylstra and Meeks run scissors concept. With this, you’ll notice Zylstra run a spray post and Meeks runs the corner route. With the offense in the red zone, they don’t run this concept particularly deep and due to the routes being ran shorter, the ball should come out quickly. Especially as the corner and safety get caught up on the post route. Quarterback Kyle Allen finds Meeks wide open for the touchdown.

Overall, it’s been a relatively strong preseason from Jackson Meeks. Strong enough that he may have just done enough to make the 53-man roster for the Detroit Lions. According to PFF, he earned the 2nd highest overall grade for any rookie last week with a 90.7 overall grade. So far in the preseason, he’s the fourth-highest graded receiver with an 88.0 overall grade.

Even more impressive is that against the Dolphins, Meeks was able to generate 6 first down receptions. Getting open, creating yards after the catch and being trusted to move the sticks is always important for an offense. We’ll see how things play out during the final preseason game of the season but one would have to imagine that Meeks will get an opportunity sooner rather than later with the Lions 53-man roster.