Samuel Joseph LaPorta (born January 12, 2001) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 20 sports, 7 for men and 13 for women; The teams participate in Division I of the Nati ...

and was named the Big Ten Tight End of the Year in 2022. He was selected by the Lions in the second round of the

2023 NFL draft The 2023 NFL draft was the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2023 NFL season, 2023 season. The NFL draft, draft was held outside of Kansas City Union Station, Union Station i ...

. As a rookie, LaPorta was named a second-team All-Pro and voted to the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

. He also broke the NFL record for receptions by a rookie tight end (since broken by

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

rookie Brock Bowers), along with setting Detroit franchise records for receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns by a tight end.

Early life

LaPorta attended Highland High School in Illinois. He played

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

and

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

in high school. During his career he had 3,793 receiving yards and 50

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

. LaPorta committed to the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

to play

College career

2019 season

LaPorta entered his freshman season in

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

behind Nate Wieting and Shaun Beyer in the depth chart. In Week 8 against Northwestern, LaPorta caught his first two career passes for 43 yards in a 20–0 win. In 2019, LaPorta played in 12 games with two starts and had 15 receptions for 188 yards.

2020 season

As a sophomore in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, LaPorta split starting duties with Beyer for the second year in a row. Against

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

, LaPorta had a career-high 71 receiving yards on five receptions in a 24–20 loss. He caught his first career touchdown against

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

while having four receptions for 57 yards in a 35–21 win. LaPorta played in eight games with five starts while recording 27 receptions for 271 yards and one touchdown. He was also named Fourth-Team All-

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

by ''

Phil Steele Phil Steele (c. 1960) is an American sportswriter and analyst who focuses exclusively on college and professional football. He is considered a "highly respected prognosticator" within the sports media. His company, Phil Steele Publications, pro ...

'' and honorable-mention All-Big Ten by the coaches and media.

2021 season

LaPorta became the starting

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

. He was placed on the

Mackey Award The John Mackey Award is presented annually to college football's most outstanding tight end. Established in 2000 by the Nassau County Sports Commission, the award is given annually to the tight end who best exemplifies the play, sportsmanship, ac ...

Preseason Watch List and was named Preseason Third-Team All-Big Ten by

Athlon Sports Parade Media (previously known as AMG/Parade and Athlon Media Group) is a publisher founded in 1967 that is based in Nashville, Tennessee. Nashville's Spencer Hays was its majority stockholder. It was purchased by The Arena Group in 2022 and no ...

and ''Phil Steele''. In their first game against ranked

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, LaPorta set a new career-best with 83 yards on five receptions in a 34–6 blowout win. Against

Kent State Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Ashtabula, Burton, East Liverpool, Jackson Township, New Philadelphia, ...

, LaPorta caught a career-best seven catches while totaling 65 yards and adding a touchdown in a 30–7 win. He caught another touchdown against

Colorado State Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. It was founded in 1870 as Colorado Agr ...

in a 24–14 win. Against ranked

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

in the

2022 Citrus Bowl The 2022 Citrus Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 2022, with kickoff at 1:00 p.m. EST and televised on ABC. It was the 76th edition of the Citrus Bowl, and was one of the 2021–22 bowl games concluding the 2021 F ...

, LaPorta had his first 100-yard game with seven receptions, matching a career-high, for 122 yards and a touchdown that gave the Hawkeyes the lead. They would not hold on to win, losing 20–17. LaPorta hauled in 53 passes for 670 yards and three touchdowns in 2021, all career-highs. At the end of the season, LaPorta was named Second-Team All-Big Ten by ''Phil Steele'', Third-Team All-Big Ten by the coaches, and honorable-mention All-Big Ten by the media. He was also an Iowa Hawkeyes Team Hustle Award recipient.

2022 season

To open the 2022 season, LaPorta was put on the Rotary Lombardi Award and Mackey Award Preseason Watch List as well as being named Preseason Third-Team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

by ''Phil Steele'', Fourth-Team All-American by Athlon Sports, and First-Team All-Big Ten by both Steele and Athlon. He was also named as one of Iowa's team captains. In a loss to

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State be ...

, LaPorta caught a career-best eight passes for 55 yards. Against

, he would top that total with nine receptions for 101 yards in a 9–6 loss. Against

, LaPorta caught his only touchdown of the season in a 24–3 win. As true senior in 2022, Laporta had 58 catches for 657 yards. He was named Fourth-Team All-American by ''Phil Steele'', First-Team All-Big Ten, and

Kwalick–Clark Tight End of the Year Coaches and media of the Big Ten Conference award the following individual honors at the end of each football season. In addition, the ''Chicago Tribune'' awards the Chicago Tribune Silver Football to the most valuable football player of the confer ...

. He finished 14th at Iowa in career receiving yards (1,786) on 153 receptions, ranking first among Iowa tight ends in catches and second in yards.

College statistics

College awards & honors

; 2020 * Fourth-Team All-

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

–

* Honorable Mention All-Big Ten – Coaches and Media ; 2021 * Second-Team All-Big Ten – Phil Steele * Third-Team All-Big Ten – Coaches * Honorable Mention All-Big Ten – Media ; 2022 *

* Fourth-Team

– Phil Steele * First-Team All-Big Ten – Coaches and Media

Professional career

The

selected LaPorta with the 34th overall pick in the second round of the

. On September 24, 2023, LaPorta became the first tight end to tally five receptions in each of his first three games as well as having the most receptions by a tight end in that stretch with 18. He also caught his first career touchdown pass on a 45-yard catch-and-run from

Jared Goff Jared Thomas Goff (born October 14, 1994) is an American professional football quarterback for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the California Golden Bears, setting Pac-12 Conference single- ...

. The Lions would end up beating the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

, 20–6. With his four receptions in Week 4 against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

, LaPorta broke the record for receptions by a tight end in their first four games with 22. A week later in Week 5 against the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

, LaPorta caught a pair of touchdowns for the first multi-touchdown game of his career while also having three receptions for 47 yards. The Lions would win, 42–24. In Week 8, LaPorta broke the Lions' franchise record for receptions by a rookie tight end with 43, breaking Charlie Sanders' record of 40 that he set in . During the game, he caught eight passes for 57 yards and a touchdown in the 26–14 win over the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West ...

. In the Lions' 22–29 loss to the Packers on

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...

, LaPorta broke Sanders' franchise record of 533 yards by a rookie tight end when he had five catches for 47 yards and a touchdown. In Week 13, LaPorta broke the franchise record for receiving yards by a rookie tight end in a single game with 140 yards and a touchdown on nine receptions. The Lions would beat the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

, 33–28. He was named

Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week NFL Rookie of the Week, sponsored by Pepsi, is an award given weekly to the best performing rookie players in the National Football League (NFL). Winners are chosen among five finalists every week during the season by an online vote on NFL.com. To ...

for his performance. In the Lions' Week 15 win over the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

, LaPorta became the first rookie tight end since

Jeremy Shockey Jeremy Charles Shockey (born August 18, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, earning first-team All-American hon ...

in 2002 to record 70 receptions in a season while also becoming the first rookie tight end since

Joseph Fauria Joseph Jules Fauria (; born January 16, 1990) is an American former professional football tight end. He was signed by the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2013. He played college football at Notre Dame and UCLA. He also played for the ...

in 2013 to record three receiving touchdowns in a single game. In Week 18 against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

, LaPorta broke the single-season rookie tight end record for receptions with 82. It also came on his 10th touchdown of the season. LaPorta also left the game early after hyperextending his knee. After finishing the season with 86 receptions, 889 yards, and a tight end leading 10 touchdowns, LaPorta was named to the

2024 Pro Bowl Games The 2024 Pro Bowl Games were the National Football League all-star game for the 2023 NFL season. This was the second year that the event consisted of skills competitions and a non-contact flag football game rather than an actual tackle football ...

. He was also selected as a Second-team

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

. LaPorta was also named a finalist for the Pepsi Zero Sugar NFL Rookie of the Year Award. LaPorta set many Lions records during his rookie season. He set new records for receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns by a tight end overall. All of which were also the Lions' rookie tight end records. His 10 receiving touchdowns were also the record for Lions rookies overall. He was an Offensive Rookie of the Year finalist. He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team. In his first postseason game, LaPorta scored a receiving touchdown in the Wild Card Round win over the Rams. In the 2024 season, LaPorta finished with 60 receptions for 726 yards and seven touchdowns. He scored a receiving touchdown in the Lions' Divisional Round loss to the Washington Commanders.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

NFL records

* Tied for most touchdowns by a rookie tight end in the Super Bowl era

Lions franchise records

* Most receptions by a tight end in a single season: 86 (2023) * Most receptions by a tight end in a rookie season: 86 (2023) * Most receiving yards by a tight end in a single season: 889 (2023) * Most receiving yards by a tight end in a rookie season: 889 (2023) * Most receiving touchdowns by a tight end in a single season: 10 (2023) * Most receiving touchdowns by a tight end in a rookie season: 10 (2023) * Most receiving touchdowns by a player in a rookie season: 10 (2023) * Most receiving yards by a tight end in a rookie game: 140 (December 3, 2023, vs.

)

References

External links

Detroit Lions bio

Iowa Hawkeyes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:LaPorta, Sam 2001 births Living people American football tight ends Iowa Hawkeyes football players People from Highland, Illinois Sportspeople from Madison County, Illinois Players of American football from Illinois Detroit Lions players National Conference Pro Bowl players