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TE Sam LaPorta, DET (1 Viewer)

ffmail4me said:
Young man looking good so far.
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Rookie TE catching all five of his targets and he still has a whole quarter left. Kid is heavily involved in the gameplan and looks like a vet out there.

I was going to drop in my redraft league if he didn’t do anything in the first few weeks, but will probably be holding him all season. A gift for those of us who punted TE in our drafts this season.
 
Sam LaPorta caught 5-of-5 targets for 39 yards in the Lions’ Week 1 win over the Chiefs.

It’s not an eye-popping statline, but as Pro Football Focus’ Nathan Jahnke points out, it was the most Week 1 receptions by a rookie tight end since T.J. Hockenson in 2019. LaPorta was also caught on film making a key block on David Montgomery’s eight-yard touchdown run. On the field for more plays than any Lions pass catcher except for Amon-Ra St. Brown, LaPorta certainly hinted he might be the rare rookie seam stretcher to provide consistent 12-team league value. He gets the Seahawks for Week 2.
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Was planning to have completely unrealistic expectations and move on to Musgrave in re-draft. However, I think I'm going to have to wait and see if he can build on this. Obviously, a lot to be excited about for dynasty.
 
This kid is easily a TE1, top 10 approaching top 5. His snap count was very high, which means everything. Campbell praised his blocking post game. 5 catches on 5 targets for 37 yards is not going to win leagues, but Goff loves him and he will quickly become his second favorite target. And a couple of those catches were poorly thrown balls which LaPorta bailed Goff out on. LaPorta's RAC did not show last night because KC has great LB's who wrapped him up, but his RAC ability is elite. Laugh all you want at a rookie TE being a top TE, but this kid is primed to put up an 80-800-8 season.
 
Much like rookie WRs already, we may be evolving to the point where rookie TEs don't automatically struggle to produce right out of the gate. While the TE position requires a lot more nuances, within the past few years Pitts had a terrific rookie year before falling off and LaPorta handled himself well last night. Let's see how Kincaid does on MNF.
 
jon_mx said:
This kid is easily a TE1, top 10 approaching top 5. His snap count was very high, which means everything. Campbell praised his blocking post game. 5 catches on 5 targets for 37 yards is not going to win leagues, but Goff loves him and he will quickly become his second favorite target. And a couple of those catches were poorly thrown balls which LaPorta bailed Goff out on. LaPorta's RAC did not show last night because KC has great LB's who wrapped him up, but his RAC ability is elite. Laugh all you want at a rookie TE being a top TE, but this kid is primed to put up an 80-800-8 season.
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Yeah, this kid will be elite. Probably saw his floor last night.
 
BobbyLayne said:
That block on Nick Bolton (Monty's TD run) will earn him snaps.
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Tip of the cap to you on the start recommendation good sir! Happy with the points, and looking like he's staying on my roster all year. It's such an easy scenario to see LaPorta being the second option behind St Brown. Jamo coming back will open up spacing for everyone, but I don't see him as a high target earner this year at all.
 
MCFootball123 said:
BobbyLayne said:
That block on Nick Bolton (Monty's TD run) will earn him snaps.
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Tip of the cap to you on the start recommendation good sir! Happy with the points, and looking like he's staying on my roster all year. It's such an easy scenario to see LaPorta being the second option behind St Brown. Jamo coming back will open up spacing for everyone, but I don't see him as a high target earner this year at all.
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I have Kincaid backing up Muth. The LaPorta owner (took him a couple picks after mine) is a FBG and he easily could make me overpay if he sent an offer today.

:lol:
 
Drake Hater said:
jon_mx said:
This kid is easily a TE1, top 10 approaching top 5. His snap count was very high, which means everything. Campbell praised his blocking post game. 5 catches on 5 targets for 37 yards is not going to win leagues, but Goff loves him and he will quickly become his second favorite target. And a couple of those catches were poorly thrown balls which LaPorta bailed Goff out on. LaPorta's RAC did not show last night because KC has great LB's who wrapped him up, but his RAC ability is elite. Laugh all you want at a rookie TE being a top TE, but this kid is primed to put up an 80-800-8 season.
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Yeah, this kid will be elite. Probably saw his floor last night.
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Yea this is one where the fantasy experts ,and training camp reports got it right. I drafted him as my back up TE in both leagues, and a bunch of best ball. He looks great
 
gucci little piggy said:
Anyone have the balls/misfortune to start LaPorta tonight? And if so, who are you putting him in over?
I've been waffling between LaPorta and Juwan, but starting to lean towards getting Sam in there. I think I'll do a bunch of back-and-forth Ruxin-esque tinkering with these two today.
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I faced him in a TE-P league last night. Put up 15-ish.

Looked good. Not flashy, but solid. On pace for 85/663/0
 
Is there a reason I keep wanting to call him Jake LaPorta? (I initially wrote "JLP" in the previous post). Maybe I'm confusing him with Jake LaMotta of Raging Bull fame?

Years ago I had a boss named Kyle Crafton. The first month I worked there, I kept thinking his last name was Clifton, until I finally Googled that name and remembered Kyle Clifton was a former LB for the Jets whose name had burrowed into my subconscious. I mentioned it to my boss and he was like, "Yeah, I get that all the time."
 
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Moved Kincaid for LaPorta this morning

Probably a wash sale but wanted to another piece of the Detroit offense

Already holding Goff as my backup & Jamo as my WR6/7

Giddy up
 
PFF

LaPorta played roughly as much as we expected on Thursday night and, more importantly, received plenty of targets.
  • The rookie tight end was consistently on the field in 11 and 12 personnel with the starters. He left the field for 21 personnel with the starters in the preseason.
  • While LaPorta was substituted out of 11 and 12 every once in a while, he received a slight majority of snaps in 21 personnel, which is likely a net positive.
  • This means there is a chance he could play 90% or more of snaps in the future.
  • LaPorta caught five passes for 39 yards. That is the most receptions for a rookie tight end in Week 1 since 2019 when T.J. Hockenson caught six passes.
  • He should be as reliable as other players who typically rank in the top 12, but he has more upside.
 
Week 1 alignment, routes, snaps
  • 58 snaps (83%)
  • 32/36 drop backs
  • 15 snaps Inline TE
  • 13 snaps outside WR
  • 4 snaps Slot
  • 26 routes run
  • 5 pass pro
  • Passer Rating when targeted 99.2
  • 5 targets 5 receptions
  • 19 AY
  • 20 YAC
  • 3.8 ADoT
 
Sam LaPorta blocking

That doesn’t even include the downfield blocking for Gibbs

He’s not big for a TE but he gets it when it comes to leverage; that will keep him on the field 90% of the time. No competition for snaps, over half his routes run came from the Slot or Outside WR, Detroit desperately needs someone to step up & be the 2nd option, and has chemistry with his QB.

Lot of good signs here.
 
Starting him over Musgrave & Juwan Johnson (yeah I know 3 TE's, the rest of my team is stacked and I'm hoping 1 of these guys hits BIG for me)
 
PFF
Per our Week 2 TE matchup tool, LaPorta has a 21% matchup advantage over Jordyn Brooks, likely his primary defender. Brooks earned a below-average 55.4 overall grade in Week 1 as the Los Angeles Rams routed the Seahawks, allowing 0.27 fantasy points per route in his first game back since tearing his ACL on New Year’s Day. Brooks' quick recovery is nothing short of special, but he faces a tough battle against LaPorta.

LaPorta’s versatility is a valuable trait, too. He lined up out wide on 40.6% of passing snaps in Week 1, but all five of his catches came between the numbers in the short area of the field. He’ll continue to be a potential starter on a Lions offense that will be projected to score points every week.
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I did not get to see the game this week, but caught 5 of 6 targets for 63 yards. Only thing that scares me about him is lack of TDs. He was not a TD scorer in college either. Hopefully they can get him some endzone love soon. He is proving to be a very dependable option.
 
Winning IS Everything said:
I did not get to see the game this week, but caught 5 of 6 targets for 63 yards. Only thing that scares me about him is lack of TDs. He was not a TD scorer in college either. Hopefully they can get him some endzone love soon. He is proving to be a very dependable option.
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5/6 and 63 yards is pretty good action. Especially for a rookie TE. TDs will come over time.
 
some PFF grades & alignment data
  • Receiving grade through 2 weeks is 75.6, good for 10th amongst TEs
  • Overall Offensive grade is 76.5, 4th best TE
  • Alignment: 37.9% Inline, Outside WR 34.8%, Slot WR% 27.3%
  • Pass Pro grade 78.8, 4th best (8 opportunities, 5 v KC and 3 v SEA)
  • stays in to block on 12.1% of drop backs; slightly higher than optimal (7% or lower) but below 15% is OK
  • Run Blocking grade 64.8; had key blocks on both of Monty's TDs this year, but also got blown tf up by a DT on Montgomery's lost fumble
Dan Campbell had high praise for him in his presser yesterday. Said (paraphrasing) "He's another one of those guys who just quietly gets better. I think game day is less stress for him than in practice, where he is being coached up pretty hard. I know this, he's shown up and we saw it again yesterday, in critical moments, he is highly competitive. He is not going to cower from that, those moments, he wants to make a play, he wants to make a block, man you can win with guys like that. He is showing up. What you see, it's true."

here's the clip

EDIT - LaPorta is 2nd among TEs in YAC with 53 (Engram 78 is 1st), and 18th in YAC amongst WR/TE
 
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Dr. Octopus said:
jon_mx said:
LaPorta's floor is top 10 TE with 700 yards and 6 TDs. Buy into the rookie TEs rarely produce at your own peril
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I know your schtick is to be overly hyperbolic about every player on the Lions roster but there is no way that’s the floor for a rookie TE (not to mention you think they’ll have two TE1s on their roster). LaPorta at best would be the third option in the passing game, and the reality is he’ll likely be 4th or 5th or worse.

He’s an exciting player for dynasty and maybe worth a flier in redraft when that’s all that’s left in the TE pool - and he may well finish as a Top 10 by default if things play out like last season but the guy’s floor is considerably lower than that.
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Update? My hyperbole is looking more like an understatement.
 
jon_mx said:
Dr. Octopus said:
jon_mx said:
LaPorta's floor is top 10 TE with 700 yards and 6 TDs. Buy into the rookie TEs rarely produce at your own peril
Click to expand...
I know your schtick is to be overly hyperbolic about every player on the Lions roster but there is no way that’s the floor for a rookie TE (not to mention you think they’ll have two TE1s on their roster). LaPorta at best would be the third option in the passing game, and the reality is he’ll likely be 4th or 5th or worse.

He’s an exciting player for dynasty and maybe worth a flier in redraft when that’s all that’s left in the TE pool - and he may well finish as a Top 10 by default if things play out like last season but the guy’s floor is considerably lower than that.
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Update? My hyperbole is looking more like an understatement.
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On pace for 867 yards and 0 TDs on a very sustainable 91% catch rate.
 
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