Sam LaPorta surprised everyone last year as a rookie with the Detroit Lions. Rookie tight ends rarely have the impact LaPorta did last season, but Dan Campbell was a tight end himself. He knows the significance of the position better than anyone. Was his rookie year enough to repeat as TE1 this season?
2024 Fantasy Football Profile: Sam LaPorta
2023 In Review
LaPorta finished as the best tight end in fantasy football last year in both standard and PPR leagues. As a rookie, the Lions tight end tallied 889 receiving yards. That’s an average of 52 yards per game which is right around the weekly average for tight ends. Where LaPorta really thrived was getting into the endzone as he caught 10 touchdown passes from Jared Goff.
The rookie tight end was Goff’s second-favorite target behind Amon-Ra St. Brown in 2023. LaPorta benefitted from Goff being one of just two quarterbacks to finish in the top 10 for PFF passing grades on short, medium, and deep passes. It’s a large reason why LaPorta did as well as he did last season.
With Campbell having experience as a tight end, he made sure he got the most out of LaPorta even as a rookie. LaPorta secured at least five catches in 10 games in 2023. If week 18 is excluded since most fantasy leagues wrap up in week 17, he made five or more catches in 9/16 games, or 56% of the games he appeared in.