This was a battle between two teams where ‘the 1st-team anything for either side was in street clothes’...so, this was not a ‘masterpiece’.
The Lions felt like the better team all along, so I have no clue or recollection how or why Miami won this. Honestly, I was zoning out at various points because the play and players in the game at the time were so weak. I really only came to see Ollie Gordon and Isaac TeSlaa play, so we’ll get into them and a few others right now...
Player Notes...
-- We start out talking about Isaac TeSlaa (4-41-1/5)...an honorary lead-off spot in this report because he’s earned it. He was the most impressive player/rookie in this game.
I thought TeSlaa was set to play lightly/sparingly (snaps) for the first half of the regular season, managed by Detroit to allow him time to get up to speed, and they like Tim Patrick for some reason. It was a logical theory to play out/project. BUT...
But he looks so good right away, I don’t know how long they can keep him off the field from being the #3 WR in this group. He may never start this season, but he may play 2-3x the snaps Patrick does as the game wears on. TeSlaa is a natural talent, and he’s ‘getting it’ fast and it’s showing up on tape in the preseason -- he’s just better than the other rookies/receivers/DBs, etc., that he is playing with.
We continue to move him up in the rankings, but he still has ARSB and Jameson to battle for targets with...not to mention Gibbs-LaPorta. TeSlaa’s 2025 may be erratic, but his future is gonna be bright and FF-useful...and probably pulls down ARSB and Jameson some in 2026+.
-- Ollie Gordon (10-50-0, 2-9-0/2) was good/fine here. Not as splashy as he was in Week 1. Part of that being the feisty Lions run defense in this game. Still, Gordon chopped through it OK for how mismatched the Lions run D vs. the Miami dreadful O-Line depth is. Ollie didn’t make any ‘special’ or ‘attention getting’ plays here this week.
The disappointing part of this Gordon game was...with DeVon Achane hurt, Jaylen Wright (4-3-0) started, which is fine/expected...but Wright was in for several series. Gordon didn’t come in for a while. I was hoping to see Gordon get some shots with Wright, that Mike McDaniel would take a look or give him some respect from his Week 1 splash...but nope, Ollie is a distant #3 right now.
BUT...Wright, once again, flopped around with little success...so Wright is doing his part trying to help Gordon move up/get a better chance. It’s probably too early for Gordon yet...little to no time with the 1s all summer, I’m sure. He’s more ‘future hope’ not ‘sudden star’. But if Wright keeps flopping like he has, they have no choice but to give Ollie some elevated looks...and if Ollie cashes in on those opportunities, this could go from 0-to-60 quickly.
-- Quickest-looking RB in this game? Not Jaylen Wright...not Ollie Gordon...it was Sione Vaki (5-30-0, 2-0-0/2), who looked very sleek and sped up from prior years. I don’t know if he will be, but he should be the #3 RB for this team/depth chart...and the natural takeover for David Montgomery when it’s time. Nice improvement for Vaki from the last two years...he’s a college safety turned RB who is still transitioning.
-- Lions UDFA WR Jackson Meeks (7-93-1/8) had a nice game...he’s competent...might make the team...but I don’t see any huge upside potential here, at this point.
Dolphins UDFA WR Theo Wease (6-80-2/9) also had a nice game here. I think he’s got a bit more in the tank than Meeks, by comparison, but he’s more a #4-5 WR talent right now who needs time to hone his craft to try and stick in the league. I wouldn’t write him off yet, but nothing FF-imminent.
-- IDP Notes...
I focused on one IDP this game, for a few series, to see how he was doing...Miami 5th-round pick CB Jason Marshall (6 tackles, 1 TFL). Given Miami’s CB woes, I wondered if he might have a shot at being a starter, but he doesn’t look ready for that just yet. I wasn’t impressed one way or the other with him in this game. I was a fan of his college work, there is some hope here, but it doesn’t look like he’s going to make the leap to surprise starter as a rookie.
