Should You Start Isaac TeSlaa in Week 14 Fantasy Football vs the Cowboys?

The Detroit Lions gave fantasy managers an emotional rollercoaster on Thanksgiving. First, Amon-Ra St. Brown sprains his ankle in the first quarter, sending TD parlays down the toilet. Then Jameson Williams goes nuclear with a 7-144-1 line. And tucked quietly behind the back-and-forth action? Rookie Isaac TeSlaa stepped into his most significant role yet, catching two passes for 35 yards and a touchdown in the Lions’ 31–24 loss to Green Bay.

“It’s unfortunate whenever you lose a player at any position, especially a star like (Amon-Ra) St. Brown. It was an opportunity for me to step up…It’s great to make a catch or two, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how many catches you get. If your team has less points than the other team, you’re not too happy about it,” TeSlaa said after the game.

Now, Week 14 brings a primetime TNF matchup vs. the Cowboys, and St. Brown is likely to miss it. So naturally, fantasy managers are asking:

Should you start Isaac TeSlaa in Week 14 fantasy football? Or is he too boom-or-bust to trust?

Let’s break it all down.

WHO IS ISAAC TESLAA?

The first thing that jumps off the screen is the size. At 6’4” and 214 pounds, TeSlaa looks like the prototype outside receiver in 2025. But this isn’t a stiff contested-catch guy, TeSlaa is a full-blown athlete.

He ran a 4.43 forty, owns a 98th percentile catch radius, and pairs elite burst with surprising agility for a dude who could realistically play tight end in another generation. He’s long, he’s springy, he’s fast, and he had a breakout age of 19.3, which puts him squarely in the “analytics darling” category.

It’s no exaggeration: TeSlaa is a walking metric machine.

He can body smaller corners, sky over defenders in contested situations, or stack them vertically on deeper routes. His versatility allows Detroit to use him outside as an X or inside as a “jumbo slot,” and quarterbacks tend to like throwing to 6’4” targets who win above the rim.

TESLAA’S PATH TO PLAYING TIME

TeSlaa turned plenty of heads this preseason when he hauled in 10 catches for 154 yards and three touchdowns on just 14 targets. That kind of efficiency highlighted both his big-play potential and his pro-ready traits. His path is as unique as it is impressive: he worked his way from Division II Hillsdale to Arkansas to the Detroit Lions, proving at every stop that his size-speed combo plays at every level.

Detroit clearly liked him enough to move on from Tim Patrick and make TeSlaa their long-term WR3 project.

But as Dan Campbell explained:

“We went into this year saying, ‘Let this guy grow.’ He’ll be a special-teams piece and a spot player until he proves he’s more than that.”

Campbell doubled down by saying:

“He’s gotten better and better. We’re asking him to do more, and I do believe an uptick in production is coming.”

That uptick finally arrived in Week 13, where TeSlaa logged his largest role of the season and capitalized with a touchdown, and we’re all hoping it extends even more this week against the Cowboys.

ISAAC TESLAA WEEK 14 FANTASY OUTLOOK

If ARSB is out, and the expectation is that he will be, TeSlaa becomes a viable deep-league Flex option with real upside.

In Week 13, TeSlaa recorded an 83.9% route participation rate, earned a 7.4% target share, and turned his two catches into 35 yards and a touchdown. Those numbers might seem modest at first glance, but the context makes them exciting: Detroit now heads into a matchup with a Cowboys secondary that has been burnt on the perimeter.

Since Week 8, Dallas has allowed the eighth-most PPR points per target to perimeter receivers and nearly 35 fantasy points per game to receivers since the beginning of the season, according to Fantasy Points data. This lines up perfectly with TeSlaa’s usage since he plays almost exclusively as a perimeter wideout.

With St. Brown and Sam LaPorta down and out, Detroit may have no choice but to feature their rookie more heavily. Fighting off the likes of Tom Kennedy (who?) and Antoine Green (who?), TeSlaa is the only receiver on the roster with true above-the-rim, mismatch-creating size. If this game turns into a fast-paced shootout, which it easily could, TeSlaa’s role becomes even more intriguing.

ISAAC TESLAA REST OF SEASON OUTLOOK

Looking beyond Week 14, TeSlaa’s appeal doesn’t fall off a cliff (if St. Brown sits). In fact, it might get better.

Detroit’s next three matchups are Dallas, the Rams, and the Steelers, and by multiple strength-of-schedule metrics, TeSlaa has one of the three easiest remaining wide receiver schedules in fantasy football. He still isn’t a high-target earner; he’s more of a boom-or-bust field-stretcher, but his athletic traits allow him to spike in the right situations.

With St. Brown sidelined on Thanksgiving, TeSlaa became a full-time player, logging a 94% route participation rate, which means he’s on the field enough to pop any given week. Deep-league Flex plays are all about volatility, matchups, and athletic upside, and TeSlaa checks all three boxes as long as ARSB remains out.

SO… SHOULD YOU START ISAAC TESLAA IN WEEK 14?

If you’re in a deeper league, dealing with injury hell, or navigating the last of the bye weeks, yes, Isaac TeSlaa is absolutely on the Week 14 radar. He has the athletic profile, the matchup, the projected playing time, and the growing trust of the coaching staff.

The Wolf currently ranks him as WR32, nine spots ahead of the ECR, placing him in the same tier as the likes of Khalil Shakir, Brian Thomas Jr., and Xavier Worthy.

Is it risky to start a rookie during the final week of the fantasy regular season? Of course. Is it fun? Definitely. Can he punish a Cowboys secondary that has been routinely torched on the perimeter? Without question.

If you need upside, Isaac TeSlaa might just be your electricity.