In the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft, Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes made a big move, shelling out future draft capital to leap from pick 102 to 70 in a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The target, wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa, raised some eyebrows.
Holmes was asked which of his seven draft picks was his favorite in a Tuesday interview with the Costa and Jansen with Heather show on 97.1 The Ticket in Detroit.
"I do love all of them," Holmes said, via the Detroit News. "I'll give you this, though: The pick that was probably the most questioned, I would say, was Isaac TeSlaa. I can say that he was my favorite wide receiver in this draft. I'm not saying he was the best wide receiver in the draft. But favorite wide receiver in the draft? Yes."
The TeSlaa pick was questioned due to the high cost of future picks. The Lions shipped their third-rounder in 2025 (102) and both of their 2026 third-rounders for the Arkansas product, a sixth-round pick in 2025, and a sixth-round pick in 2026. Given how stingy teams can be moving draft picks during the season for veterans, a GM's willingness to spend that capital so freely during the draft causes the noggin kneading.
During Day 2 on Friday, Holmes and the rest of the Lions' draft room wore black sweatshirts with the letters H.W.S. crossed out. The initials stood for height, weight and speed. Crossing them out, the GM said over the weekend, was a nod to the Lions' mantra that game film should trump physical attributes and stats.
It's an interesting dichotomy, given that TeSlaa was viewed as one of the most athletic projection picks of the draft. The 6-foot-4, 214-pound TeSlaa scored a 96 Athleticism score, first among wideouts who tested at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine. His production score ranked 48th among receivers. After transferring from small Hillsdale College in Michigan to Arkansas for the past two years, TeSlaa caught just 62 total passes for 897 yards. He also wasn't asked to run a full route tree during his time with the Razorbacks. The Lions must really trust their film work on the wideout.
Holmes suggested that when he moved up for the 23-year-old Michigan native, TeSlaa was one of the top-rated players left on his board regardless of position.
"When you think about past drafts and you look into, 'Oh, well that's a third-round pick, that's a third-round pick.' You guys have heard this before: Not all drafts are the same," Holmes said. "What I mean by that: Yeah, not all drafts are the same, but also when you look at the past, let's say two or three drafts -- even including this one -- it has not been the same depth of talent.
"This year, last year and the year before, you don't find an Alim McNeill in the third round. You don't find Amon-Ra St. Brown in the fourth round. Those guys just aren't there, as of recent (drafts). We're sitting there at 102, 'OK. If we stay here, we're going to be dealing with a different level of player, based on our board, not on the 31 other boards, but based on our board.' You take all of that into account."
Helping turn the Lions from an afterthought into a contender, Holmes has earned some leeway. However, for all his midround wins, he's also struck out making moves like he did last Friday -- as many clubs do. A year from now, the question will be how much the Lions miss those two third-round picks compared to the production they get from TeSlaa in 2025.
As with all things draft-related, the truth is that we won't know the real answer for years. If TeSlaa turns into a genuine threat as a big slot player, no one in Detroit will mourn the loss of those two third-rounders. If the wideout winds up as a special teams-only type, the trade will look cringey. Those are the draft gambles.
