Sam LaPorta in the NFL
In the NFL. Photo: Maize & Blue Nation, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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

Best season
670
Receiving yards, 2021 (Iowa, 10–⁠4)
Drafted
No. 34
Round 2, 2023 NFL Draft (Detroit Lions)

Career highs

9catches, career highat Illinois, 2022122receiving yards, career highvs. Kentucky, 2021

Honors

Players of the year, conference and regional honors: Wikipedia’s lists (CC BY-SA), each linked from its honor.

Receiving

Receiving yards, season by season, with his team’s record
SeasonTeamRecYdsAvgTDLong
2019Iowa1518812.5041
2020Iowa2727110.0124
2021Iowa5367012.6336
2022Iowa5865611.3158
Career1531,78511.7558

Defense

SeasonTeamTklSoloTFLSacksPDHur
2020Iowa110000
2021Iowa220000
2022Iowa220000
Career550000

Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls.

On the roster

SeasonTeamNo.PosClassHtWt
2019Iowa84TEFr.
2020Iowa84TESo.
2021Iowa84TEJr.
2022Iowa84TESr.6′4″249

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

SeasonTeamPlaysEPA/playPctileMedianTotalUsage
2019Iowa200.66––13.25%
2020Iowa440.2110th (n=346)0.559.18%
2021Iowa720.7764th (n=410)0.6755.19%
2022Iowa700.6845th (n=683)0.7147.310%

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
DateOpponentResultRecYdsTDLongRush
Sep 3vs.South Dakota StateW 7–⁠32906–
Sep 10vs.Iowa StateL 7–⁠10855011–
Sep 17vs.NevadaW 27–⁠021309–
Sep 24atRutgersW 27–⁠10477042–
Oct 1vs.MichiganL 14–⁠2752408–
Oct 8atIllinoisL 6–⁠99100032–
Oct 22atOhio StateL 10–⁠54655017–
Oct 29vs.NorthwesternW 33–⁠13553015–
Nov 5atPurdueW 24–⁠3371141–
Nov 12vs.WisconsinW 24–⁠10548013–
Nov 19atMinnesotaW 13–⁠10495058–
Dec 31 ✦vs.KentuckyW 21–⁠05560276
2021 Iowa 13 games, 53 catches, 670 yards, 3 TD
DateOpponentResultRecYdsTDLongRush
Sep 4vs.IndianaW 34–⁠6583024–
Sep 11atIowa StateW 27–⁠17121021–
Sep 18vs.Kent StateW 30–⁠7765118–
Sep 25vs.Colorado StateW 24–⁠14445127–
Oct 1atMarylandW 51–⁠14549016–
Oct 9vs.Penn StateW 23–⁠201808–
Oct 16vs.PurdueL 7–⁠24561022–
Oct 30atWisconsinL 7–⁠27344027–
Nov 6atNorthwesternW 17–⁠1231507–
Nov 13vs.MinnesotaW 27–⁠22334017–
Nov 26atNebraskaW 28–⁠21361030–
Dec 4vs.MichiganL 3–⁠42662021–
Jan 1 ✦vs.KentuckyL 17–⁠207122136–
2020 Iowa 8 games, 27 catches, 271 yards, 1 TD
DateOpponentResultRecYdsTDLongRush
Oct 24atPurdueL 20–⁠24571020–
Oct 31vs.NorthwesternL 20–⁠21646011–
Nov 7vs.Michigan StateW 49–⁠721106–
Nov 13atMinnesotaW 35–⁠71505–
Nov 21atPenn StateW 41–⁠21332016–
Nov 27vs.NebraskaW 26–⁠20538015–
Dec 5atIllinoisW 35–⁠21457124–
Dec 12vs.WisconsinW 28–⁠7111011–
2019 Iowa 6 games, 15 catches, 188 yards
DateOpponentResultRecYdsTDLongRush
Oct 26atNorthwesternW 20–⁠0243041–
Nov 9atWisconsinL 22–⁠24116016–
Nov 16vs.MinnesotaW 23–⁠19112012–
Nov 23vs.IllinoisW 19–⁠10236022–
Nov 29atNebraskaW 27–⁠24337022–
Dec 27 ✦vs.USCW 49–⁠24644014–

Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.

Before the draft

DrillCombine 2023Combine or pro day 2023
Height6′3¼″
Weight245 lb
Arm length32⅛″
Hand size10¼″
Wingspan77½″W
40-yard dash4.59 s
10-yard split1.59 s
Vertical jump35″
Broad jump10′3″
Bench press16 reps
3-cone drill6.91 s
20-yard shuttle4.25 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.

SeasonTeamGRecYdsTD
2023Detroit Lions178688910
2024Detroit Lions16607267
2025Detroit Lions9404893
2026 (so far)Detroit Lions5273163
NFL career472132,42023

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).

Is this you, or do you know of something wrong or missing here? Suggest a correction. We check each one against a source before changing the page.