Imagine a Cybertruck that can cover a 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds -- a specific type of model that can catch darts from Matthew Stafford. Well, if the Rams draft Isaac TeSlaa in the middle rounds later this month, that’s what they’ll be leasing.
Elon Musk has nothing on the 6-4, 214-pound wide receiver from Arkansas. That’s because TeSlaa’s last name is pronounced differently than the billionaire’s multinational automotive and clean energy company. Joe Buck, Joe Davis and every other Joe should get an early start on that pronunciation because TeSlaa’s name could one day reach household status.
It’s pronounced teh-SLAW, with an accent on the second syllable. And unlike the pronunciation of Tesla, the wide receiver’s name sounds more like coleslaw, basically what he could make out of NFL defenses with Stafford and Sean McVay.
According to insider Jordan Schultz, the Rams had TeSlaa in for a pre-draft visit this week, a month after the prospect topped 21 other wide receivers in the 40 at the scouting combine. TeSlaa also posted a 39.5-inch vertical leap (tied for fourth among receivers at the combine) and finished sixth with a 10-9 broad jump.
But McVay and Les Snead care more about what he did last fall against Texas A&M than what he did against fellow receivers at the combine. For the record, he caught five passes for 120 yards and a 75-yard touchdown at AT&T Stadium against the Aggies. However, unless the Rams see intangibles on film, those combine measurements are important because TeSlaa didn’t catch a lot of passes for the Razorbacks.
In two years (2023-24), he posted 896 yards and five touchdowns on 62 receptions. But like McVay, TeSlaa grew up on a gridiron with a father who coached him in high school.
At Unity High School in Hudsonville, Mich., TeSlaa was a Wing T quarterback who didn’t attempt a lot of passes but obviously had the ball in his hands on every play.
That blessing turned into a curse when trying to field scholarship offers from Division I schools. Like Cooper Kupp, TeSlaa had zero offers from Division I programs. As he transitioned from quarterback to wide receiver, he opted to begin his college career near his hometown, at Hillsdale College in Michigan.
In his second year at the school, he earned his conference offensive player of the year award after averaging 19.5 yards per reception, with 68 catches for 1,325 yards and 13 touchdowns. That effort finally generated the D-I offers, and he wound up at Arkansas.
Two years later, he’s making a pre-draft visit to Rams headquarters. And whether he winds up in Los Angeles or another NFL city, keep any eye on the big, speedy wide receiver.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/rams/ as Rams Should Be Interested in Unique WR Prospect .