Despite dropping in production for the second straight year, Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta remains highly regarded by the league-wide view. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN polled executives, coaches, and scouts across the NFL to rank the top ten players at each position. LaPorta finished fourth in an impressive tight end group.
This speaks to the faith that the league still has in LaPorta. Fowler notes that LaPorta is still highly dynamic with the ball in his hands.
“LaPorta averaged 2.25 yards after first contact per reception, leading the top-10 group,” wrote Fowler. “His 6.9 yards after the catch per reception topped all tight ends.”
Detroit Lions Tight End Sam LaPorta Ranks Fourth Best Among NFL Tight Ends
GettySam LaPorta
LaPorta produced 889 yards in his rookie year. This set the bar high and gave a strong expectation of what he can do in the NFL. He did not quite get back to those levels in his second year, though. LaPorta produced just 726 yards.
It was a subtle reminder that progression in the NFL does not always come linearly.
However, his decline continued in 2025. LaPorta only had 489 yards. To be fair, that was due to injury. LaPorta only played in nine games and missed eight games due to a herniated disc in his back.
LaPorta averaged 54.3 yards per game when he was healthy last year. In his rookie year, he averaged 52.3 yards per game. So, a full season of that type of production would have set a career high. Unfortunately, now his career-high remains in his rookie season.
The injury is now behind him, and he would have been ascending this year had he not gotten hurt. Fortunately for LaPorta, this did not impact his rankings much. However, another down year could cause a massive fall. That is because the tight end group is starting to get filled with young talents.
LaPorta Joins Young Group of Ascending Tight Ends
George Kittle is third on the list and is 32 years old. He is also coming back from an Achilles injury. So, he will likely fall down the list at some point soon. However, seven of the top eight tight ends on this ranking were ages 26 and younger. Mark Andrews and Travis Kelce finished in ninth and tenth, showing that a new age of tight ends is upon us.
The top two are Brock Bowers and Trey McBride. Bowers is already the top tight end at age 23, making it hard for anyone to top him. McBride is 26 years old, but somehow is one of the older names on the list.
Tyler Warren finished one spot behind LaPorta. He is just a rookie and is a year younger than LaPorta. The 24-year-old might be catching LaPorta soon if he does not produce again in 2026.
Tucker Kraft is right behind him, and he is only 25 years old. Another rookie is behind in Colston Loveland. Loveland is only 22 years old, and his seventh-place ranking feels like the lowest he will be moving forward.
Lastly, Kyle Pitts ranked eighth. Despite a longer NFL career, he is only 25 years old this year. LaPorta is well regarded among these peers, but they are all ascending, so he has to keep up.
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