Sam LaPorta

LaPorta's underlying metrics in 2025 were some of the best in the tight end sample despite playing just nine games—his 93rd-percentile YPRR (2.00), 92nd-percentile route grade, and 90th-percentile YAC per reception all reflect a player operating at a high level when healthy. He caught every contested target thrown his way and didn't drop a single pass. The per-game production tells the same story. He was theTE7 on a per-game basis in both 2024 and 2025, at 9.0 and 9.7 points respectively. The Lions' spread-it-around offense limits how high his ceiling goes. Detroit leans heavily on Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs, and the rushing game, which means LaPorta operates in an environment where targets are shared and touchdowns are the primary path to big weeks. He's going as the TE7, and the value proposition is a player who has been quietly elite from a per-game standpoint in limited action and should be fully healthy entering the season. LaPorta is a midrange TE1 with enough upside to function as a weekly starter when the Lions give him opportunities in the red zone.