Sam LaPorta’s NFL career has already given the Lions plenty to work with, but one analyst thinks the tight end’s best season might still be ahead of him.
At FTN Fantasy, Daniel Kelley laid out three fantasy-focused predictions for Detroit, and the boldest one centered on LaPorta finishing with a career-high in receiving yards. That comes after a run of strong, if uneven, production through his first three seasons.
LaPorta’s rookie year remains his most productive on the surface: 86 catches, 889 yards and 10 touchdowns. In 2024, those numbers dipped to 60 receptions, 736 yards and seven scores. Last season, an injury-shortened campaign limited him to 40 catches, 489 yards and three touchdowns.
Kelley’s case is that the raw totals don’t tell the full story. He argued that LaPorta’s rookie season looked like his best year mainly because of playing time and touchdowns, noting that it was the only year he played all 17 games. Kelley then pointed to the rate stats that suggest LaPorta was actually more efficient last season than his box score production showed.
“LaPorta’s rookie year being his best year is almost entirely a product of two things: Playing time and touchdowns,” Kelley wrote. “That rookie year was his only year playing all 17 games. And with the very known caveat that when you lower the denominator, it becomes that much easier for an average to look better, let’s look at his numbers on a rate basis…”
Those rate numbers are the heart of the argument. Kelley highlighted career bests in yards per game at 54.3, yards per target at 10.0 and yards per route run at 1.8, all of which point to a player whose efficiency was trending up even as the season was being cut short.
There’s also a new wrinkle in Detroit’s offense. The Lions will be led by coordinator Drew Petzing, who helped Trey McBride put together back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons with the Cardinals over the past two years. That connection is part of why Kelley sees a big year coming for LaPorta if he can stay on the field.
For now, the bigger question is health. LaPorta is still recovering from a back injury, but the signs point to him being ready for training camp. And with the final year of his rookie contract approaching, the setup is there for a huge 2026 if everything breaks right.
Elsewhere around the Lions, AttilaTheHun floated an intriguing idea for linebacker Erick Hunter, suggesting he could make an impact on special teams as a rookie before growing into a box safety role. The comparison set included names like Nick Emmanwori, Kyle Hamilton, Derwin James and Josh Metellus, with the idea that Hunter could become a hybrid defender in the “Big Nickel” mold.
That argument leaned heavily on Hunter’s measurables and background: a 6-foot-2, 220-pound frame, 33-inch arms, 10-inch hands and 4.5 speed. The case also pointed to his football IQ, his experience playing quarterback, wide receiver and defensive end in high school, and his success in basketball and track and field, including a 400-meter relay state championship in 2021.
There was also a separate note on Terrion Arnold, with Albert Breer and Conor Orr describing the situation as unprecedented and saying they were not sure whether he’ll play football this year. As they put it: “All eyes are on the commissioner.”
Amon-Ra St. Brown also spoke with NFL Network on Tuesday about his offseason, training camp and Drew Petzing, though the conversation was described as fairly standard. On the defensive side, Justin Rogers took a closer look at how the linebacker room may adjust without Alex Anzalone.
And in a lighter note, a video series featuring Lions players describing teammates with one word included Jahmyr Gibbs’ answer for Brian Branch, which was described as a savage response.
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