Pride of Detroit
Breaking down every rookie performance from the Detroit Lions’ preseason opener vs. the Chargers.
The Hall of Fame Game provided a great opportunity for the Detroit Lions to give their 2025 rookie class some extra experience on the field. In the Thursday night matchup versus the Los Angeles Chargers, several first-year players made strong impressions.
Rookie receivers Dominic Lovett and Isaac TeSlaa both had strong showings in the first half of the game.
Lovett, one of Detroit’s seventh-round picks, dropped his first target of the game on a pass from Kyle Allen on second-and-18 that would have converted for a first down. The rookie later redeemed himself by bringing in five receptions for 31 yards over the rest of the half. He also contributed on special teams as a returner. Lovett took one punt return for 19 yards that—if not for tripping and stumbling to the sideline—he could have taken for a good amount of extra yards.
Overall, the former Mizzou Tiger and Georgia Bulldog seemed comfortable in his roles and moved quickly on short routes from the slot. He also did the work as a blocker in the run game when asked to. Lovett is currently battling for a role on the roster as the team’s sixth receiver.
Third-round pick Isaac TeSlaa doesn’t have as much to worry about when it comes to securing a roster spot, and his play on Thursday night showed just why he’s a lock for this team. TeSlaa pulled in back-to-back receptions at the end of the first quarter, the first for 24 yards and the next for 22.
TeSlaa’s most impressive play of the day, however, was not one you’d find on the stat sheet. Lining up at the gunner spot on a punt in the first half of the game, the third-round receiver outran the blockers on the return team and forced the return man to waive for a fair catch. It’s a good thing that fair catch was called, because TeSlaa seemed ready to take the man’s head off.
The unsung rookie hero of this game was undrafted safety Ian Kennelly, a Michigan native who played at Grand Valley. Kennelly tied with the second-most tackles on the team for this game despite only really playing in the second half. In my notes for this game I wrote “Kennelly is everywhere.” as the rookie defensive back took reps as both a box safety and free safety and played especially well in zone looks.
Kennelly had six total tackles, most of which were against the run. He does a great job as a run defender making his read quickly and meeting the rusher near the line. While he only had one solo tackle, it does go to show that he plays the safety position correctly, coming down from his drop to assist the front-seven against inside runs.
Here’s how the rest of the Lions’ rookie class performed in their first taste of NFL football:
