Sam LaPorta

Detroit Lions·#87UNDERPAID

Pos TEHt 6'3"Wt 249 lbExp 2 yrCollege Iowa

TE rankings →

Model Score

85.6 MODEL

2023

82.9

2024

84.2

2025

85.6

How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →

Season Stats · 9 games

4028th

Rec

48922nd

Rec Yds

324th

Rec TD

4932nd

Targets

54.36th

Yds/Gm

11.97th

Fantasy PPG

Advanced Metrics EPA & Next Gen Stats

1.1259th

EPA / target

3.6 yd21st

Avg separation

7.3 yd

Avg cushion

1.88th

YAC over exp

81.7%

Catch %

STM Take

LaPorta at STTM #4 tier 1 in 2025 closes a three-year stretch ranking tier 1 in two of three seasons. The 9 games played in 2025 (vs. 17 from McBride) means the per-game profile is what carries the rank. Detroit's tier-1 offense (Goff QB1, Gibbs RB1, St. Brown WR1, Williams WR1) keeps him as a target option but never the primary read.

LaPorta was born in Highland, Illinois, played at Iowa where he won 2022 Big Ten Tight End of the Year, and Detroit took him 34th overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. He earned second-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors as a rookie in 2023, and holds the NFL record for postseason receiving yards by a rookie tight end (176).

Strengths

Rookie year second-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl plus the NFL postseason rookie TE record (176 yards); the ceiling is established.
Two of three career years at tier 1 at age 25; the trajectory is locked among the position's elite tier.

Concerns

Only 9 games played in 2025; the durability is now a real question.
Detroit's deep target tree means he is the 4th or 5th read; the per-game ceiling lives in red zone usage.

What to watch: Games played in 2026; the per-game rate is tier-1 when healthy, but the Lions have many mouths to feed.