The Detroit Lions made a big move in the third round of this year’s NFL Draft that was a bit of a surprise.
They traded the 102nd in this year’s draft to the Jacksonville Jaguars along with both of their third rounders next year to move up to pick 70.
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They then used the pick to select wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa.
The pick came earlier than expected and required a hefty draft capital investment, but now an NFL insider has revealed why the Lions had to make the move they did to get TeSlaa.
New Detroit Lions wide receiver Isaac TeSlaaKirby Lee-Imagn Images
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, TeSlaa had great pre-draft processes with the New Orleans Saints and Buffalo Bills. The Saints owned the 71st pick while the Bills selected 72nd.
He also added that the Broncos picked a wide receiver at 74, which could have meant TeSlaa would have been on their radar if he was still available.
All of these teams weren’t the only competition the Lions faced to get this deal done.
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They also had to outbid the Rams to get the 70th pick. Los Angeles offered the Jaguars their second-round pick in next year’s draft, but were likely after a different prospect.
You wouldn’t expect a player with Teslaa’s stats to be in such high demand early in the third round.
He had just 62 catches for 896 yards over his two seasons at Arkansas.
However, Fowler said that TeSlaa made a good impression on teams during the pre-draft process and running the 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds at 6’4″ certainly didn’t hurt.
He’ll face an uphill battle to shine on a team loaded with pass-catching talent, but the Lions clearly believe he can make an impact for an offense that was one of the best in history last season.
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