By Blessing 
Isaac TeSlaa Gets Surprising Madden 26 Rating as Lions Prepare for Hall of Fame Game
Let’s be honest—Isaac TeSlaa probably deserves a bit more love from the Madden team.
Whether it’s due to limited playing time during his stint at Arkansas or the fact that he wasn’t exactly a media darling leading up to the 2025 NFL Draft, TeSlaa has mostly stayed under the radar since being selected by the Detroit Lions in the third round.
Detroit actually made a move to trade up for TeSlaa, a clear sign that the front office saw something special in him—something worth jumping the board to secure. But since draft night, there hasn’t been much on-field action to validate or challenge that decision. TeSlaa hasn’t yet had the chance to show what he can really do in an NFL setting.
That changes Thursday night.
As the Lions head to Canton, Ohio, to face the Los Angeles Chargers in this year’s Hall of Fame Game, TeSlaa is one of the few rookies expected to suit up. Other drafted rookies like Tate Ratledge and Tyleik Williams are not expected to play in the opener, putting a bit more spotlight on TeSlaa heading into the preseason.
Now to the buzz that has fans talking: TeSlaa’s Madden 26 rating. He was given a modest 68 overall—an eyebrow-raising number for a third-round pick who many believed had untapped potential. On the bright side, his 91 speed rating is impressive. But that’s balanced by a 65 in strength and a 64 in awareness, which drops him into the same tier as much later-round rookies.
Also coming in at 68 is defensive end Ahmed Hassanein. But in Hassanein’s case, the rating makes sense. The former rugby player has only been playing football for about four years and was widely viewed as a raw, developmental prospect. TeSlaa, on the other hand, has shown flashes of red zone dominance, at least in the limited highlight reels from his time with the Razorbacks.
Madden released the rookie ratings this past Wednesday, with Tyleik Williams leading the Lions’ class at 77 overall. Dominic Lovett, a seventh-rounder, earned the fastest speed score at 92, while Williams also holds the title of strongest rookie with a 91 rating in that category.
These ratings aren’t set in stone—they’ll shift as the season goes on. But typically, it takes a full year of standout performance before a player sees significant movement in the game. So if TeSlaa can rise up in a crowded Detroit wide receiver room and carve out a role, there’s a good chance that 68 won’t stick for long.
For now, though, Thursday night offers the first real chance for TeSlaa to show both fans and Madden what he’s really made of.