Sam LaPorta can do what no Lions rookie has done before
The Detroit Lions are going to be counting on rookie tight end Sam LaPorta and it should set him up for a nice year. So nice, in fact, he has a really good shot at becoming the Lions' first rookie tight end to record more than 367 receiving yards since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. […]
The Detroit Lions are going to be counting on rookie tight end Sam LaPorta and it should set him up for a nice year.
So nice, in fact, he has a really good shot at becoming the Lions' first rookie tight end to record more than 367 receiving yards since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.
Former first-round pick T.J. Hockenson currently holds the Lions' record for most receiving yards in a season (367) and it was set in 2019. LaPorta may have trouble beating the rookie record for most receiving touchdowns by a tight end (7), but he certainly has a shot to beat Hockenson's record for most receptions (32) and Brandon Pettigrew's record for most first downs (20).
History is on LaPorta's side, as well. 67 tight ends have recorded 368 receiving yards or more in Year 1 since the 1970 merger and 21 of them have come in the last 10 years. In fact, four rookies -Chigoziem Okonkwo, Cade Otton, Isaiah Likely, and Greg Dulcich- did it last year. To add to the situation: One can even assume LaPorta could eclipse 500-yards in 2023.
This is a big year for the Lions, so a big year for LaPorta would go along way toward accomplishing the team's postseason goals. No one is saying he has to have a Kyle Pitts-like rookie year, but if going above the team's franchise record would certainly be a good start.
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Featured image via Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK
