Dan Campbell didn’t need a long explanation when asked what he wants from three young Lions moving into Year 2.
He gave it in one word: consistency.
That was the message for Tyleik Williams, Tate Ratledge and Isaac TeSlaa, all of whom flashed as rookies and now have a chance to grow into real impact starters for Detroit in 2026.
“That comes with young players,” Campbell said. “I could say that with Tyleik, I could say that with TeSlaa- any of these young players that have banked some reps but now they’re going into year two. They are improved… but now it is the consistency, man.”
“Can you do those little things over and over and over? A heck of a lot more than you’ve done them? And that’s always gonna be, for a young player, that’s the next step in growth.”
For Williams, the path is clear. The Lions need him to become a full-time presence in the middle of the defensive line after moving on from D.J.
Reader this offseason. Detroit spent a first-round pick on him last year because of his run defense and his upside as an interior pass rusher, and he delivered a solid rookie foundation: 17 games, 10 starts and 40% of the defensive snaps.
He’s not at a spot where the highlight plays come easy, but he showed enough at nose guard to make the organization optimistic. Now he’s down to 325 pounds as he tries to add speed and do more than just clog the middle. Alim McNeill will be alongside him, and Campbell said the Lions are ready to see how much more Williams can handle.
“We’re willing to give him an opportunity,” Campbell said. “If there’s a little bit more that shows, maybe he’s out there a little bit more on third down, We like Tyleik.
We absolutely know there’s a role for him and there’s something he can do for us that really helps us. Can it be even more than that?
Yeah. Our eyes are open.”
Ratledge is in a different spot, but the theme is the same. The second-round pick out of Georgia started all 17 games at right guard as a rookie, and while the first stretch of the season came with growing pains, he settled in as the year moved along. Communication was part of the early issue, and his pass protection still has work to do after allowing 24 pressures, nine quarterback hits and two sacks.
He was strong in the run game, though, and if he keeps adjusting to the speed and language of the NFL, Detroit could have a reliable starter on the interior. Campbell said Ratledge has had “a really good camp” this summer.
"You can tell that, man, he came in saying, 'I want to be much better than I was last year. I'm going to clean a lot of this stuff up,’” he said.
“And everything I've seen to this point has been good. I mean, he looks good”
TeSlaa is the wild card, but the upside is obvious. The Lions traded up for him in the third round last year, paying two third-round picks to do it even though receiver wasn’t exactly a glaring need. He had only been playing the position since 2020 and arrived with plenty to learn, yet he still turned six of his 16 rookie catches into touchdowns.
That kind of production points to a receiver with real juice, especially as an athletic X who can go get the ball. The door to the No. 3 receiver job is open after Kalif Raymond left in free agency, but TeSlaa hasn’t had the smoothest preseason. Separation has been an issue, and the drops have shown up too.
If he sharpens his routes and cleans up the ball security, the Lions have something dangerous on their hands. They don’t need him to become a star overnight, not with so much other talent already in place. But if he can take advantage of the easier opportunities created by the attention Detroit’s other playmakers draw, the offense gets even harder to deal with.
That’s the thread running through all three players: they’ve already put useful tape on film, and now they’re being asked to make it repeatable. If Williams, Ratledge and TeSlaa can turn that promise into steady production while still on rookie deals, Detroit’s roster gets a lot more valuable in a hurry.
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