Two weeks into his NFL career, Sam LaPorta is in a club to himself. With another five-catch performance in the Lions' loss to the Seahawks, LaPorta became the first tight end in NFL history with at least five catches in each of his first two games.
Jared Goff might soon make it three.
"He's done a hell of job ever since he got here," Goff said Tuesday on 97.1 The Ticket. "He’s a guy that I’ve noticed has great hands, great football instincts, runs great routes. Has a great feel for the game. He understands space and is a guy that I’ve begun to trust."
It didn't take long for LaPorta, the 34th overall pick, to establish himself as the Lions' top tight end. And it hasn't taken him long to emerge as one of Goff's favorite targets. He caught all five passes thrown his way for 39 yards in the Lions' season-opening win over the Chiefs, then caught five of six for 62 yards in their overtime loss to the Seahawks.
That included two huge receptions on the Lions' second-to-last drive that pulled them within three. The first, which LaPorta basically ripped out of the hands of defensive back Coby Bryant, moved the chains on 3rd and 12. The second went for 23 yards after LaPorta bounced off two tacklers at the point of the catch and rumbled for extra yardage. No wonder Goff likes throwing his way.
"I know where he’s going to be and he’s got really strong hands at the catch point. You saw that with the one late in the game on 3rd and 12. When guys are making plays across the middle and catching balls like he is, it gains a lot of trust from me to want to continue to give it to him," said Goff.
LaPorta was the second tight end off the board in this year's draft. He leads all of them so far in catches (10) and yards (102). T.J. Hockenson, the player he essentially replaced in Detroit, has 11 catches for 105 yards -- and two touchdowns -- this year for the Vikings. LaPorta has also been a physical, if not always flawless, run blocker, clearing out linebackers on both of David Montgomery's touchdowns.
A head-down worker, LaPorta is getting "coached up" so hard in practice, Dan Campbell said Monday, that he's actually under less stress on game days.
"And the other thing is, I know this because he’s shown it after two weeks and he did it again (Sunday), in critical moments he is highly competitive," said Campbell. "You can just tell, he is not going to cower from those moments. He’s a guy who wants to make a play, he wants to make a block and man, you can win with those guys."
Campbell reiterated that LaPorta, 22, is "still a rookie" and "has to be better in the run game." That will come with time.
"But he is showing up," Campbell said. "What you’re seeing is true.”