Playing in the NFL is hard. Outside of quarterback, it doesn't get harder for a rookie than playing tight end. As former Lion T.J. Hockenson once said, "It's kind of crazy to think that we get paid less than a tackle and less than a wide-out when do both." Just how hard is it? The 14 tight ends not named Sam LaPorta taken in this year's draft have averaged 1.1 catches and 8.8 yards per game so far. They've combined for two touchdowns.
Dan Campbell can relate: "Those guys get a lot put on them." A former tight end himself, Campbell didn't catch a single pass as a rookie. It wasn't until his fourth season and his 49th game that he caught his 25th pass. LaPorta has caught that many through five games. It is not supposed to be this easy. It isn't. LaPorta is just making it look that way.
"Especially somebody like Sam, we ask a lot mentally and physically," Campbell said Tuesday on 97.1 The Ticket. "And the more he’s able to do, the more we’re going to ask him to do, in both regards. We put an enormous amount on our tight ends. We’ve been doing that to Brock (Wright) going on three years now, but this kid brings a different flavor to us."
When tight ends are taken early in the draft, we often hear the term "matchup nightmare." LaPorta, drafted 34th overall, is actually LaProblem. Choose your, well, flavor: LaPorta is first among NFL tight ends in yards, tied for first in touchdowns and first downs, and fourth in catches. He's first in contested catches and second in yards after catch. He's the third highest-graded tight end per Pro Football Focus, trailing George Kittle and Travis Kelce. Heard of 'em? When Jared Goff throws LaPorta's way, he has a passer rating of 137.8.
"Getting him involved constantly has been great," Goff said Tuesday on 97.1 The Ticket.
LaPorta earned Goff's trust almost as soon as he showed up. Strong hands and a knack for getting open will have that effect. LaPorta has been the beneficiary of a couple Ben Johnson trick plays, but he's also created yards on his own. Every week, it seems, he joins another exclusive group. He's now the second tight end in NFL history with at least 35 receiving yards in each of his first five games. He's averaging five catches for 57.8 yards per game, and he has more touchdowns (3) than every other rookie tight end combined.
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Point is, LaPorta is playing really well, at a really difficult position. He has to know Detroit's complex offense basically as well as Goff, and he has to play the role of basically every player but Goff. The Lions have deployed him inline, in the slot and out wide. His blocking, if not perfect, has been impressive for a rookie, especially in assistance to the run.
On his first touchdown last week, LaPorta was stationed behind the O-line before slipping into the flat and making an easy catch near the pylon. On his second, he lined up on the right shoulder of Penei Sewell, disguised as a blocker again, before flying upfield to catch a double-reverse flea-flicker. And on the Lions' final touchdown, LaPorta lined up on the left shoulder of Taylor Decker and cleared out defensive end Brian Burns to open a path for Craig Reynolds, in the fourth quarter of a game that was already in the bag.
"He just continues to grow every week," said Campbell. "What’s exciting is, I think what you see out of him right now is real. And it’s only going to get better, I really believe that. Every game that comes, every practice that comes and goes, all he does is gain the confidence of this staff and the players around him and he gains the confidence of Goff. He’s becoming one of our guys we can really depend on right now, and that’s a good thing for a rookie."
If LaPorta's rise is really just beginning, Brad Holmes and the Lions have hit another jackpot. They traded Hockenson midway through last season in part because they weren't inclined to pay a mostly one-dimensional tight end the kind of money he would get from the Vikings: four years, $66 million, $16.5 million per year. They turned around and replaced him with a potentially better tight end who will cost $9.5 million total over the next four seasons.
It doesn't necessarily mean the Vikings were wrong for paying Hockenson, a Pro Bowler who leads tight ends in catches this season. But the Lions were right to move on. At 22, LaPorta already looks the equal of Hockenson and he'll save Detroit about $14 million per year. That surplus could help fund an extension for Jonah Jackson, or allow for the acquisition of a high-price player at the trade deadline, or facilitate a free agent signing next offseason. Whatever the case, it gives the Lions options, at no detriment to their roster.
There's nothing sorta about LaPorta, whose talent is real.