
Tight end, Iowa, 2019–22
Sam LaPorta
- Number
- No. 84
- Height
- 6′4″
- Weight
- 249 lb
- Class (2022)
- Senior
- Hometown
- Highland, IL
- Born
- Jan 12, 2001
Sam LaPorta played tight end at Iowa (2019–22). The Detroit Lions took LaPorta in round 2, No. 34 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.
At a glance
Career highs
9catches, career highat Illinois, 2022122receiving yards, career highvs. Kentucky, 2021Honors
Players of the year, conference and regional honors: Wikipedia’s lists (CC BY-SA), each linked from its honor.
Receiving
Defense
Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls.
On the roster
As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.
Per play
| Season | Team | Plays | EPA/play | Pctile | Median | Total | Usage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Iowa | 20 | 0.66 | – | – | 13.2 | 5% |
| 2020 | Iowa | 44 | 0.21 | 10th (n=346) | 0.55 | 9.1 | 8% |
| 2021 | Iowa | 72 | 0.77 | 64th (n=410) | 0.67 | 55.1 | 9% |
| 2022 | Iowa | 70 | 0.68 | 45th (n=683) | 0.71 | 47.3 | 10% |
Expected points added: how much the player’s plays moved the team’s expected score, per play and in total. Plays: total EPA divided by EPA per play, the plays the source credits to him (for a receiver roughly his catches and runs, not every target; for a passer, not every attempt), so it can differ from attempts plus carries. Percentile: against the position’s regulars that season across all divisions on file (quarterbacks with 150+ plays, backs 60+, receivers and tight ends 30+), with how many there were (n) and their median; a dash means too few plays to rank. A season in progress uses the full-season bar scaled by games played, never below 75 plays for quarterbacks, 30 for backs and 20 for receivers. The cohort grows or shrinks with the source’s coverage each season (2025 lists far more players), so compare percentiles rather than raw EPA across years. FCS seasons are marked. Usage: the share of the team’s plays the player was part of (shown from 20 plays). From CollegeFootballData, 2013 on.
Game by game
2022 Iowa 12 games, 58 catches, 656 yards, 1 TD
| Date | Opponent | Result | Rec | Yds | TD | Long | Rush |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3 | vs. | W 7–3 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 6 | – |
| Sep 10 | vs. | L 7–10 | 8 | 55 | 0 | 11 | – |
| Sep 17 | vs. | W 27–0 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 9 | – |
| Sep 24 | at | W 27–10 | 4 | 77 | 0 | 42 | – |
| Oct 1 | vs. | L 14–27 | 5 | 24 | 0 | 8 | – |
| Oct 8 | at | L 6–9 | 9 | 100 | 0 | 32 | – |
| Oct 22 | at | L 10–54 | 6 | 55 | 0 | 17 | – |
| Oct 29 | vs. | W 33–13 | 5 | 53 | 0 | 15 | – |
| Nov 5 | at | W 24–3 | 3 | 71 | 1 | 41 | – |
| Nov 12 | vs. | W 24–10 | 5 | 48 | 0 | 13 | – |
| Nov 19 | at | W 13–10 | 4 | 95 | 0 | 58 | – |
| Dec 31 ✦ | vs. | W 21–0 | 5 | 56 | 0 | 27 | 6 |
2021 Iowa 13 games, 53 catches, 670 yards, 3 TD
| Date | Opponent | Result | Rec | Yds | TD | Long | Rush |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 4 | vs. | W 34–6 | 5 | 83 | 0 | 24 | – |
| Sep 11 | at | W 27–17 | 1 | 21 | 0 | 21 | – |
| Sep 18 | vs. | W 30–7 | 7 | 65 | 1 | 18 | – |
| Sep 25 | vs. | W 24–14 | 4 | 45 | 1 | 27 | – |
| Oct 1 | at | W 51–14 | 5 | 49 | 0 | 16 | – |
| Oct 9 | vs. | W 23–20 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 8 | – |
| Oct 16 | vs. | L 7–24 | 5 | 61 | 0 | 22 | – |
| Oct 30 | at | L 7–27 | 3 | 44 | 0 | 27 | – |
| Nov 6 | at | W 17–12 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 7 | – |
| Nov 13 | vs. | W 27–22 | 3 | 34 | 0 | 17 | – |
| Nov 26 | at | W 28–21 | 3 | 61 | 0 | 30 | – |
| Dec 4 | vs. | L 3–42 | 6 | 62 | 0 | 21 | – |
| Jan 1 ✦ | vs. | L 17–20 | 7 | 122 | 1 | 36 | – |
2020 Iowa 8 games, 27 catches, 271 yards, 1 TD
| Date | Opponent | Result | Rec | Yds | TD | Long | Rush |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 24 | at | L 20–24 | 5 | 71 | 0 | 20 | – |
| Oct 31 | vs. | L 20–21 | 6 | 46 | 0 | 11 | – |
| Nov 7 | vs. | W 49–7 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 6 | – |
| Nov 13 | at | W 35–7 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 | – |
| Nov 21 | at | W 41–21 | 3 | 32 | 0 | 16 | – |
| Nov 27 | vs. | W 26–20 | 5 | 38 | 0 | 15 | – |
| Dec 5 | at | W 35–21 | 4 | 57 | 1 | 24 | – |
| Dec 12 | vs. | W 28–7 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 11 | – |
2019 Iowa 6 games, 15 catches, 188 yards
Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.
Before the draft
| Drill | Combine 2023 | Combine or pro day 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Height | 6′3¼″ | |
| Weight | 245 lb | |
| Arm length | 32⅛″ | |
| Hand size | 10¼″ | |
| Wingspan | 77½″W | |
| 40-yard dash | 4.59 s | |
| 10-yard split | 1.59 s | |
| Vertical jump | 35″ | |
| Broad jump | 10′3″ | |
| Bench press | 16 reps | |
| 3-cone drill | 6.91 s | |
| 20-yard shuttle | 4.25 s |
Combine or pro day: the source doesn’t say which. Unmarked: Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data); W: Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
In the NFL
4 seasons, 47 games with a stat; latest team: Detroit Lions.
Pro Bowl: 2023 · Second-team All-Pro (AP): 2023
All-Pro teams: AP second team 2023.
| Season | Team | G | Rec | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Detroit Lions | 17 | 86 | 889 | 10 |
| 2024 | Detroit Lions | 16 | 60 | 726 | 7 |
| 2025 | Detroit Lions | 9 | 40 | 489 | 3 |
| 2026 (so far) | Detroit Lions | 5 | 27 | 316 | 3 |
| NFL career | 47 | 213 | 2,420 | 23 | |
Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat. Pro Bowls and All-Pro teams by NFL season: rosters and honors, Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
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