Pride of Detroit
Throughout the offseason, SB Nation will host surveys for NFL fans, sponsored by the folks over at FanDuel Sportsbook. For Pride of Detroit, we are tasked with fielding questions from Detroit Lions fans, and this week’s question stems from a debate between Jeremy Reisman and me during a recent Mid-Week Mailbag podcast episode.
In between segments, Jeremy and I took questions from our live audience, and listener Max asked us who would end up with the third-most receiving yards for the Lions in 2026. We assumed Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams would be the top two leaders, respectively–as has been the case the previous two seasons–and we both quickly agreed that Sam LaPorta would probably check in third.
But that’s where the debate began.
I confidently planted my flag on Jahmyr Gibbs being my choice to be fourth in receiving yards, while Jeremy picked Isaac TeSlaa as his choice.
“I think TeSlaa scratches six (hundred receiving yards), and Gibbs hits 7–, about 750,” I projected.
Reisman suggested looking back to 2025, specifically Weeks 13-18 (the final six games of the regular season), when TeSlaa was used in a similar fashion to what most project in 2026, which netted the following comparison:
“I don’t know how much room Gibbs has to grow as a receiver,” Jeremy noted, pointing out Gibbs’ best year receiving topped out at 616 receiving yards. “There’s definitely some (room to grow), but I felt like while he had a crazy amount of attempts (catches), he didn’t have that many yards per attempt.”
Jeremy alluded to the fact that TeSlaa is just scratching the surface of what he is capable of, which certainly aligns with the heavy praise TeSlaa has gotten from the coaching staff this spring.
While I agreed TeSlaa should see a jump in production, I countered with stats from former Lions starting X-receiver Josh Reynolds, whom I believe sets a reasonable expectations bar for TeSlaa in 2026.
“Josh Reynolds–who I think we are hoping (TeSlaa) can be–in his best year in Detroit, had just 608 (receiving) yards,” I explained.
Alright, time to pick a side.
If you need more context, Jeremy and I spend around 10 minutes discussing the topic on the Mid-Week Mailbag podcast (the discussion starts at the one-hour and eight-minute mark). Once you have all the information you need and are ready to participate, vote in the survey below, share your feedback in the comment section, and check back with Pride of Detroit this weekend for the results.
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