This class is filled with talent and will bring great value to your dynasty squad for the foreseeable future. Dave Heilman (@DynastyDorks) and I (@FFBourbonDude) will discuss the following tight ends and if you’re interested in listening in to our initial pre-combine breakdowns, get to our YouTube Channel and check out our 2023 Draft Profiles.
Our pre-draft consensus rankings are as follows:
- Michael Mayer
- Dalton Kincaid
- Luke Musgrave
- Darnell Washington
- Sam LaPorta
This write-up is about our consensus number five tight end in the 2023 rookie class, Sam LaPorta. So let’s get into it.
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Sam LaPorta – NFL Rookie Draft and Dynasty Watch
Background
Sam LaPorta was a high school wide receiver that converted to TE when arriving at the Iowa campus. After spending his freshman season splitting time, he led the Hawkeyes in receiving yards each of the last two seasons.
Height – 6’4″
Weight – 249 pounds
College Career
Each year we saw Sam LaPorta getting better and better as has been accustomed for Iowa tight ends. He progressed in targets, receptions, yards, and PFF receiving grade in each of his last three seasons. He is not a super athlete but looks like a solid prospect as a tight end.
| Rec | Yds | TD | YPC | |
| 2020 | 27 | 271 | 1 | 10.0 |
| 2021 | 53 | 670 | 3 | 12.6 |
| 2022 | 58 | 657 | 1 | 11.3 |
TE Pros
All-Around
LaPorta doesn’t really have one attribute that jumps off the page at you. He is solid all-around, has a decent route tree, can catch well, breaks some tackles, and can block admirably but doesn’t excel at any one thing.
YAC
There are enough examples on tape of him getting the ball in space or breaking a tackle for yards after the catch. Again, I wouldn’t say excels in this regard but here is what he has put on tape.
Louis Rudock said Brian Ferentz told him that the only difference between Rob Gronkowski and Sam LaPorta is height.
Major Gronk vibes on this play. pic.twitter.com/yAkL17QfeA
— Mitch Fick (@MCFick) December 31, 2022
Route Running
He was asked to run a pretty full route tree while at Iowa. This is likely his best attribute but again, isn’t a technician either.
TE Cons
Contested Catch
Not his strong suit by a long shot. He averages a measly 35% success rate when contested per PFF.
Run Blocking
His run blocking is not good to put it lightly. He doesn’t have a nice wide base and gets thrown out of position rather easily. Think about it, he was a tall lanky wide receiver until he arrived to Iowa.
Speed
There are a ton of examples of him not running past lower-level competition players as well as getting run down. Just not really part of his game.
