It was never a question of 'if' Sam LaPorta would rise to TE1 for the Lions, but when. The answer is now. After taking mostly reserve reps in spring practices, LaPorta has been playing with Jared Goff and the Lions' first team offense to kick off training camp.
Not because he's a second-round pick. Not because he's ripe with potential. No, because at a highly-demanding position, the tight end out of Iowa keeps making plays.
“As a coaching staff, we are very much, ‘You need to earn your stripes,'" offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said Wednesday. "So you saw in the springtime, he got minimal work with the first team, and now he’s earned the right to be in that first-team huddle with Jared and that offensive line. He’s proven that over the course of the springtime with the work that he’s put in."
LaPorta isn't so quick to pat himself on the back. Asked after Wednesday's practice about his smooth acclimation to the Lions' offense, he said, "I think those are your words, not mine. Smooth? It's been a bumpy road learning the playbook." Of course, if you ask the mastermind of that playbook, Johnson will tell you that LaPorta "is in a really good spot for a first-year tight end, particularly with the volume we are applying with the installs right now."
"We are putting a lot of pressure on him to pick it up," Johnson said.
Thanks to his study habits, LaPorta is answering the challenge. He said that after two hours of breaking down the offense in position meetings at the end of each day, he devotes another hour in the team hotel "to just crank out the playbook and the install for the next day." Then a refresher prior to practice the next morning. By the time he hits the field, he's well-rested and ready to go.
"It's great to just be in the huddle, to hear the play call, to be out there with the 1's, to get that opportunity. I believe it’s speeding up the process in which I'm playing, just how the game is slowing down for me," LaPorta said.
LaPorta was a polished player coming out of Iowa. Johnson has treated him like it, giving him numerous looks as a receiver. And LaPorta has, again, risen to the occasion, catching passes all over the field. He's shown a knack for getting open, and for going up and getting it even when he's covered. In an offense with weapons everywhere, it wouldn't be a surprise to see LaPorta emerge as one of Goff's favorite targets.
"We like to think of it as a perfect play offense," LaPorta said. "Hopefully every time we get up there to snap the ball, we're in a perfect play, or in a situation to get us in a perfect play with Jared checking plays at the line, just getting us in an advantageous situation."
In Detroit's tight ends room, which also features Brock Wright, Shane Zylstra and James Mitchell, LaPorta clearly has the most receiving ability. This is before discussing what the Lions believe he can do for their run game. That was a big piece of his value at Iowa, Johnson said, "the ability to do both, to be a pass catcher and also a run blocker." When the Lions put the pads on this weekend, LaPorta can further cement himself as TE1.
"It’s a position that if you cannot block and deal with the physicality, then in our offense, the value goes down," Johnson said. "Tight ends that can’t block really are glorified receivers."
There's nothing glorified about LaPorta, a tight end who takes pride in being an "every-down player."
"That entails you have to be able to get open and catch the ball, but also do some of the gritty things like run block, dig out dudes that are 40 pounds heavier than you, pass-set some of the best pass rushers on the field," said LaPorta. "It entails all of those things."
From what we've seen so far, the 22-year-old is up to the task.
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