Lions GM: Isaac TeSlaa was 'my favorite WR in this draft'

The Detroit Lions gave up a significant haul to trade up to select Isaac TeSlaa, but general manager Brad Holmes backed the Arkansas receiver as a prospect he didn't want to miss out on.

"I do love all of (our selections)," Holmes said on "The Costa and Jansen with Heather Show" on Tuesday, according to Richard Silva of 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."

Many pundits criticized the Lions' decision to trade their 2025 third-round pick (No. 102) and two 2026 third-round selections to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for the No. 70 pick and a sixth-round selection (No. 182).

However, Holmes defended the move, saying that not all drafts are built equally.

"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.

Holmes added: "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."

TeSlaa's athleticism was his top selling point. His relative athleticism score ranked 29th out of 3,816 receivers from 1987 to 2025.