What has happened to Lions TE Sam LaPorta this season

A year ago, Detroit Lions TE Sam LaPorta had a historic rookie season. Through 10 games that rookie season, he recorded 50 receptions for 492 yards and four touchdowns. Ultimately, he finished with 86 receptions for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2023.

This season things have changed and the drop in second place seems to be evident. Through 10 games this season, LaPorta has just 28 receptions for 385 yards and three touchdowns. It’s certainly not the worst stat line, but expectations for LaPorta would be high because of what he did last season as a rookie.

Put the production aside and it’s clear that LaPorta looks “off” this season. While he has struggled to stay healthy, he has played through injuries, but he just doesn’t look as sharp as he did a season ago. Let’s dive into a movie and see if we can spot the differences.

Starting with LaPorta blocking, there will always be ups and downs for tight ends in this area. A lot of that comes down to alignment, blocking in space or who they’re going to block. Sometimes there are just inconsistencies for the position. However, the play out above is positive from LaPorta.

Looking at the piece above, you can see LaPorta lined up next to Taylor Decker (LT 68). Once the ball is snapped, he comes off the line with a jab with his left foot. This forces the defensive end to take an extra step out and away from the ball, and most importantly, it gives Decker a better chance or angle to seal the defensive end.

As for LaPorta, he’s starting to climb to the second level. From there, his aim is the outside shoulder of Colts cornerback (40) Jaylon Jones. When LaPorta gets close, he throttles down with a good pad level and starts buzzing his feet as he closes in on the defender. Within striking distance, he strikes with his hands and follows with his feet. From there, he keeps his feet choppy and clears the defender 10 or 15 yards downfield.

Going back to last season, there was clear trust between Jared Goff and Sam LaPorta. Using the play above as an example, let’s go back to the Monday Night game between the Lions and Raiders.

Looking at the play above, the Lions use pre-snap motion to get into a 2×2 set. Once the ball is snapped, you’ll see LaPorta run a post route, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he runs an option route. This route would change depending on the depth and direction of the middle linebacker to the Raiders defense.

Reading the safeties, Goff knows there is a potential mismatch and opens up for LaPorta to score a touchdown. Meanwhile, there is some confidence in Goff throwing the ball in a closer window because of the linebacker’s coverage drop.

That said, it just feels like there’s a disconnect between Goff and LaPorta this season. Moving back to last week against the Colts, the Lions are facing a 3rd and short on their opening drive of the game. These downs and distances tend to be very manageable for the Lions, but this one ended up being a negative game.

Looking at the play above, the Lions use pre-snap motion to get into a condensed 3×1 set with their ’12’ man (a running back and two tight ends). Instead of running the ball, the Lions drop back to pass and coming off an exit move is Sam LaPorta.

As LaPorta begins to come upfield, he breaks to the middle of the field on what appears to be a snag route of 5 or 6 yards. Rather than throttle down, sink his hips and sit in the passing window, LaPorta runs with a high cushion level and drifts towards the middle of the field. Despite very good coverage from Colts LB (44) Zaire Franklin, it felt like Goff would have tried to fit this pass into this window last season. Additionally, it feels and looks like LaPorta would have run this route much cleaner a season ago.

Overall, we should all be very happy to have Sam LaPorta as the starting tight end for the Lions. He is an asset to the attack due to the fact that he could produce a big game at any moment. Meanwhile, the defense needs to honor him when he’s on the field. If not, the Lions offense could really stay hot as they have been for most of this season.

Despite the apparent appearance of some sort of disconnect between Goff and LaPorta, we’re starting to see increased targets for the second-year tight end. Over the last four weeks, LaPorta has seen 21 targets and that has led to 14 receptions for 161 yards and two touchdowns. The four weeks prior to that he had only seen 9 goals.

As the Lions reach the final month of the season, it wouldn’t be surprising for their offense to start featuring more of LaPorta in the passing game. Especially now that we are starting to see injuries to some of their playmakers like Kalif Raymond, David Montgomery and Amon-Ra St. Brown. There’s no need to hit the panic button, but through this point in the season there has been some concern with Sam LaPorta. This Thanksgiving against the Chicago Bears