Fantasy football managers are well aware that rookie tight ends often face a steep learning curve, and that expectations for those players should generally be tempered. But Lions TE Sam LaPorta, a second-round pick in this year’s draft, has a real chance to make significant contributions to Detroit’s offense in his first professional season.
According to Tim Twentyman of the team’s official website, LaPorta was one of the Lions’ most impressive players during OTAs and minicamp. TE coach Steve Heiden was especially pleased with LaPorta’s instincts and feel for the game, traits that were honed during his time in a pro-style Iowa offense that gives tight ends a great deal of responsibility. In addition to those intangibles, LaPorta also offers prototypical size (6-4, 249) and athleticism and displayed considerable receiving and YAC ability at the collegiate level.
As such, Twentyman expects LaPorta to have a major role right out of the gate. He will be aided in that regard by a depth chart that, in the wake of the trade that sent T.J. Hockenson to the Vikings at last year’s deadline, is light on proven talent.
After the trade, James Mitchell, Brock Wright, and Shane Zylstra saw expanded playing time, and while those players combined for nine touchdown grabs following Hockenson’s departure, none of them offer LaPorta’s upside. Wright and Zylstra are both former UDFAs, and Mitchell was a fifth-round pick in the 2022 draft.
Nonetheless, Heiden has (predictably) spoken highly of all of his charges, and given that offensive coordinator Ben Johnson‘s scheme relies heavily on tight ends, Twentyman believes there is a good chance that Detroit’s Week 1 roster will include four TEs, just as it did in 2022. LaPorta’s ability to line up out wide will, in addition to increasing his own snap share, make it even more likely that the team keeps four tight ends. That is especially true since WR Jameson Williams‘ six-game suspension creates an immediate need for outside-the-numbers talent that LaPorta can fill, thereby opening up more in-line opportunities for the players below him in the pecking order.
Of the above-mentioned players, Twentyman believes that Zylstra’s job security is the most tenuous, while LaPorta, Mitchell, and Wright appear to be roster locks. The Lions’ TE allotment could also be influenced by the presence of Jason Cabinda, who can play both fullback and tight end.
Almost like the front office and coaching staff are already feeling the pressure of taking yet ANOTHER high round TE, and feel forced to try to make him succeed ASAP in order to save face in an organization that’s failed time and time again on drafting TE’s in the first couple rounds.
Keep in mind that this front office regime HAS NOT drafted a TE any higher than the 5th round since taking over. They were not responsible for drafting Ebron, Hockensen etc. And with the trust I have in this front office, if they want to draft a TE this high, let’s roll! And I’ve watched LaPorta play in the Big Ten for years now and this guy is a baller! He was for real the only bright spot on an absolutely dreadful offense and he still found ways to get open and move the ball. Can’t wait to see him play!
As an Iowa fan I can tell you he is incredible at making contested catches and also getting open. He also has bricks for hands on easy catches.
I’m all-in on him, we have no choice but to be. Just like w/ Hock, whether you want to acknowledge it or not, the expectations are going to be massive when you take a TE in the first round (or damn near it in the case of LaPorta). The potential for the return on investment is very, VERY thin. When the last regime took Hock, our margin of error was literally he had to be as good as a Kittle or Kelce, and if he fell short of those VERY lofty comparisons, he at best didn’t live up to expectations, or at worst, was a bust. I think if we’re being fair we could say he fell somewhere between those 2 scenarios in his time with the Lions.
Why was Hockenson considered a bust, or at least a bad fit in the Detroit offense?
All the things he was hyped for he wasn’t actually good at, is a basic breakdown.
Detroit fans bitch about Hockenson, but it’s really misplaced anger stemming from the entire Quinn/Patricia era. As a 7th overall pick he had sky high expectations placed upon him and a pretty average to below average supporting cast around him, until last year where they traded him anyway.
TJ was perfectly fine and adept as a TE1 from a receiving standpoint — just not “Top 10 NFL Pick” fine. He struggled to get open in concepts that required him to chip or seal an edge before releasing, as he’s not overly physical.
But for all the positives, Detroit fans were also sold a “Iowa Tight Ends Catch and Block” bill of goods, and Hockenson was simply NOT good or capable of run blocking. The fact the run game and offense as a whole was more cohesive and effective after they traded him and replaced him with Blocking-1st TEs underscores that.
He is actually a very solid run blocker while zone blocking as he was very good in Minnesota. You are right he was very poor in Detroit’s Gap blocking system.