Sam LaPorta is a career quality starter — a tight end whose body of work places LaPorta in the top quarter of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and LaPorta's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Sam LaPorta
Height6'3"
Weight245 lb
BornJan 12, 2001
Age25
CollegeIowaSee College Stats
ConferenceBig Ten
Rookie yr2023
Draft2023 · Rd 2, Pick 34 · DET
All-Time Rank & Honors
career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title context1x
Pro Bowls
A high-end tight end defined as much by excellent availability over their career as by their on-field impact (top 20% all-time). Coaches and teammates could count on them being available.
Career Value · VORP
VORP 91 · #1246 · High-ValueWorth 91 points of value above a freely-available replacement tight end — top 28% of all 4,612 ranked at the position. 3 of 3 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +30.3 on average.See board →
Seasons above replacement
3 cleared
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it — adds 0, never a debit
46
Replacement
the KC-H bar
→
3
Seasons over
cleared the bar
×
+30.3
Avg surplus
peak +36
3 seasons × ~30.3 surplus ≈ VORP 91
Combined Season Grid
The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at once—no tab hopping. Switch to Combined to fold the selected families into unified totals—yards from scrimmage, total TDs, touches.
4 grids split in one view
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Receiving | Rushing | Defense | Snap Counts | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Ctch% | Y/R | Y/Tgt | AirYd/T | 1D | Att | Yds | TD | Y/A | TD% | 1D | 1D% | Fmb | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | Off | Off% | Def | Def% | ST | ST% | |||||
| 2023 | — | DET | 17 | — | 120 | 86 | 889 | 10 | 71.7% | 10.3 | 7.4 | — | 48 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 981 | 82.6% | — | 0.0% | 12 | 2.5% |
| 2024 | — | DET | 16 | — | 83 | 60 | 726 | 7 | 72.3% | 12.1 | 8.7 | — | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 910 | 84.9% | — | 0.0% | 2 | 0.6% |
| 2025 | — | DET | 9 | — | 49 | 40 | 489 | 3 | 81.6% | 12.2 | 10.0 | — | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 517 | 90.7% | — | 0.0% | 5 | 1.9% |
| Career | — | 42 | — | 252 | 186 | 2,104 | 20 | 73.8% | 11.3 | 8.3 | — | 110 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 2,408 | 85.2% | — | 0.0% | 19 | 1.6% | |
Rushing
* GS not available from free sources — SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)
Receiving
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Ctch% | Y/R | Y/Tgt | AirYd/T | 1D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 22 | DET | 17 | 14* | 120 | 86 | 889 | 10 | 71.7% | 10.3 | 7.4 | — | 48 |
| 2024 | 23 | DET | 16 | 14* | 83 | 60 | 726 | 7 | 72.3% | 12.1 | 8.7 | — | 39 |
| 2025 | 24 | DET | 9 | 8* | 49 | 40 | 489 | 3 | 81.6% | 12.2 | 10.0 | — | 23 |
| Career | 42 | 36* | 252 | 186 | 2,104 | 20 | 73.8% | 11.3 | 8.3 | — | 110 |
* GS not available from free sources — SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)
Snap Counts
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Off | Off% | Def | Def% | ST | ST% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 22 | DET | 17 | 14* | 981 | 82.6% | — | 0.0% | 12 | 2.5% |
| 2024 | 23 | DET | 16 | 14* | 910 | 84.9% | — | 0.0% | 2 | 0.6% |
| 2025 | 24 | DET | 9 | 8* | 517 | 90.7% | — | 0.0% | 5 | 1.9% |
| Career | 42 | 36* | 2,408 | — | — | — | 19 | — |
* GS not available from free sources — SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 66 · Strong StarterA strong starter career by KV-H: a remarkably steady profile that scores 66 of 100, era-normalized against rec yds/g peers across 3 scored seasons, with a short career trimming the score.
77
Sustained
career value
×.6
76
Peak
best 3 seasons
×.4
×0.86
Longevity
career length
Blend 76.6 × longevity 0.86 = KV-H 66· confidence 100%
What builds the career mark of 77
On-field 59.5
Availability 17.5
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative rec yds/g)
2023bestavg 76elite 702025
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position11
Depth
of 100
Reached 12% of the all-time Receptions leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
12% of the all-time Receptions leader12
0 categories ≥25% of the all-time leader0
A 0–100 scale where 100 = matched the all-time leaderat this position. Built only from visible encyclopedia data — career production vs. the all-time leader, plus efficiency (EPA) and comparable-player confidence — so it's a transparent context score, not a subjective rating. Tiers: Elite ≥ 85 · Strong ≥ 65 · Solid ≥ 45 · Depth < 45. Comparable-player confidence: 92%.
Per-Snap Impact
Tight Ends · proprietary · 2012+61
Above average
SIS
Yards/snap0.875Touch rate0.105EPA/snap0Snap share86%Off snaps2,408ConsistentCV 0.07
Production per snap — the box score normalized by opportunity. SIS is z-scored within tight ends, shrinkage-regularized so small samples don't spike, over the NFL snap-count era (2012+).
Career Aging Trajectory
vs. position group average · KV-H basisAmber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average tight ends aging curve. Group peak age: 25. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).
Combine · 2023
Percentiles compare each raw measurement against position peers, the full combine pool, and the same draft class where enough samples exist.
4.59s
40-Yard
Strong · 87th pct
Pos 87thAll 62thClass Pos 74thClass All 47th
35"
Vertical
Above avg · 67th pct
Pos 67thAll 65thClass Pos 56thClass All 60th
123"
Broad Jump
Strong · 88th pct
Pos 88thAll 80thClass Pos 61thClass All 61th
6.91s
3-Cone
Strong · 87th pct
Pos 87thAll 82thClass Pos 81thClass All 84th
4.25s
Shuttle
Strong · 75th pct
Pos 75thAll 67thClass Pos 69thClass All 83th
Playoff vs Regular Season
📉 Regular Season Player
Yards / Reception: 11.3 regular season → 8.4 playoffs (2 playoff seasons)
-26%
vs reg season
Postseason Career
4 playoff gamesReceiving
Tgt34Rec27Yds227TD2Ctch%79.4%Y/R8.4Y/Tgt6.71D14
Snap Counts
Off239Off%88.3%
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Iowa), but no parsed college box-score table is present in this profile artifact. The section stays here so every profile has a consistent college-stats landing point without fabricating unavailable rows.
Reference Graph
Career teammates and draft class, derived from year-by-year rosters — every name is linked.
Top Teammates
Jared GoffQB3yGraham GlasgowC3yAlex AnzaloneMLB3yDavid MontgomeryRB3yTaylor DeckerOT3yKalif RaymondWR3yAmon-Ra St. BrownWR3yPenei SewellOT3yAlim McNeillDT3yDerrick BarnesLB3yAidan HutchinsonDE3yKerby JosephSAF3yJack CampbellLB3yJameson WilliamsWR3yKayode AwosikaG3yJahmyr GibbsRB3yBrock WrightTE3yBrian BranchCB3yJack FoxP3yDan SkipperOT3yMalcolm RodriguezLB3yCraig ReynoldsRB3yTrevor NowaskeLB3yKhalil DorseyCB3y
2023 Draft Class· this player went #34
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterSam inherited the Detroit Lions TE room from Brock Wright (2021–2025), and holds it as the most recent the corpus records.
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0–100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 2025final season
Last recorded season with DET
- 2023draft
Drafted by DET — Round 2, Pick 34
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'3" / 245 lb
Frame
245 lb at 4.59s
Size-speed
35" vert / 123" broad
Explosion
Knox
StatVault's proprietary player intelligence, informed by full career data. How Knox works →
Historical Knox · KV-H
Era-normalized career quality — z-scored against 3-season peers. See all →
66
peak 76
Season Report Cards· KV-H era-normalized per season
A2023
B+2024
B+2025
Availability
Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 3 seasons.
82%
20232025
2025 · cause not documented · 53%
Era Translator
Rec Yds translated to the 2025NFL — each season's standing among its own-era peers, projected onto 2025's scoring environment. Modern-era (1999+) coverage.
| Season | Actual Rec Yds | Rec Yds/G | → 2025 Rec Yds | → 2025 /G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 889 | 52.3 | 934+45 | 54.9 |
| 2024 | 726 | 45.4 | 800+74 | 47 |
| 2025 | 489 | 54.3 | 924+435 | 54.3 |
Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:snap_counts, nflverse:combine, nflverse:draft_picks · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 7/31/2026
Career Value · VORP
91 career value over replacement — #1246 all-time of 4,612. 30.3/season above a replacement-level TE.
Career Profile
Draft OutcomeValue ↑
Pick #34 (Rd 2) · DET · 2023 · +11.2 vs expected KV-H
66actual
54.8 expected · Δ+11.2
Fan Rating
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