Lions' Sam LaPorta: 'Everybody Deserves the Ball'

The reduced number of targets from his rookie campaign (120) to last season (83) didn’t bother the Pro Bowl tight end one bit, though. Instead, he found it rewarding that he was able to refine his game as a run-blocker as a result of the fewer opportunities he garnered as a receiver. 

“I was really pleased with how I blocked last year in the run game,” LaPorta said during a media session with local reporters Thursday. “Looking ahead (to) this year, I think just continue to polish things off in the run game, the pass game, start to see the game from the quarterback’s perspective, what Jared (Goff) needs exactly. And maybe not just knowing what I’m doing on the field, but what other people are doing as well. Just seeing the big picture really.”

Despite the drop-off in production for LaPorta in year No. 2, he was still a solid pass-catcher a season ago. In fact, he recorded a 79.1 Pro Football Focus receiving grade, good for the sixth-best mark among all qualified tight ends (37 players) in 2024. Plus, as he expressed Thursday, the Lions’ offense was still a high-functioning unit, producing a league-high 33.2 points per game. 

“I felt like I was still a very polished receiver in the pass game,” LaPorta said of his second season as a pro. “There was a lot of weapons last year, so I kept hearing comments this offseason, ‘Why didn’t you get the ball as much?’ Like dude, we scored the most points out of any team in the NFL in the last five years. Like everybody deserves the ball. And I agree, I think I deserve the ball still.”

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