Sam LaPorta sure looked good as a rookie. How much better might he get in his second season?
He’s now been around for a year, of course, with the opportunity to better learn the offense and build a better rapport with Jared Goff. Even last year, he got better as the season progressed. He caught 57 passes for 573 yards and 7 TDs in his final 10 games (including the playoffs). That’s 7 more catches for 81 more yards and 3 more touchdowns than in his first 10 game (which were also good).
But as fantasy football veterans know, it’s always hard to improve on a standout season. The bar’s already been set high. And opponents work in the offseason as well. No doubt they’ll be going into games with LaPorta being more of a priority. (That seems to be how it plays out; why defenses didn’t think of making LaPorta more of a priority last December, I have no idea.)
Looking at previous tight ends who’ve played well as rookies, there hasn’t been a strong trend for them to take off in their second year. Of the last 14 who’ve finished with top-15 numbers in their rookie season, seven caught more passes in their second year, but seven caught fewer. Seven finished with more yards, but seven had fewer. And it’s also split on touchdowns (six up, six down, and two remaining the same).
In teams of second-year jumps, I’m actually more excited about Dalton Kincaid. With the Bills having jettisoned Stefon Diggs, I think they’ll be going to Kincaid more.
I have not yet stacked a board. (I am currently researching players, and let’s see who lands where in the draft.) But if I were picking today, LaPorta probably would be my first or second tight end. Kincaid maybe in my top 5.
| ROOKIE TIGHT ENDS WITH TOP-15 NUMBERS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | No | Yards | TD | PPR | Rk |
| 2002 | Jeremy Shockey, NYG | 74 | 894 | 2 | 175.4 | 3 |
| 2002 | Randy McMichael, Mia. | 39 | 485 | 4 | 112.3 | 9 |
| 2004 | Chris Cooley, Was. | 37 | 314 | 6 | 104.4 | 12 |
| 2005 | Heath Miller, Pitt. | 39 | 459 | 6 | 120.9 | 14 |
| 2006 | Owen Daniels, Hou. | 34 | 352 | 5 | 99.2 | 14 |
| 2008 | Dustin Keller, NYJ | 48 | 535 | 3 | 119.5 | 14 |
| 2008 | John Carlson, Sea. | 55 | 627 | 5 | 147.7 | 7 |
| 2010 | Aaron Hernandez, N.E. | 45 | 563 | 6 | 142.0 | 14 |
| 2010 | Rob Gronkowski, N.E. | 42 | 546 | 10 | 156.6 | 11 |
| 2013 | Tim Wright, T.B. | 54 | 571 | 5 | 141.3 | 13 |
| 2017 | Evan Engram, NYG | 64 | 722 | 6 | 173.6 | 5 |
| 2019 | Noah Fant, Den. | 40 | 562 | 3 | 113.0 | 15 |
| 2021 | Kyle Pitts, Atl. | 68 | 1,026 | 1 | 176.6 | 6 |
| 2021 | Pat Freiermuth, Pitt. | 60 | 497 | 7 | 153.7 | 13 |
| 2023 | Dalton Kincaid, Buff. | 73 | 673 | 2 | 152.3 | 11 |
| 2023 | Sam LaPorta, Det. | 86 | 889 | 10 | 239.3 | 1 |
| ROOKIE TIGHT ENDS IN TOP-15 (the next yr) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | No | Yards | TD | PPR | Rk |
| 2003 | Jeremy Shockey, NYG | 48 | 535 | 2 | 113.5 | 9 |
| 2003 | Randy McMichael, Mia. | 49 | 598 | 3 | 126.8 | 4 |
| 2005 | Chris Cooley, Was. | 71 | 774 | 7 | 190.4 | 4 |
| 2006 | Heath Miller, Pitt. | 34 | 393 | 5 | 103.3 | 13 |
| 2007 | Owen Daniels, Hou. | 63 | 768 | 3 | 157.8 | 7 |
| 2009 | Dustin Keller, NYJ | 45 | 522 | 2 | 111.9 | 19 |
| 2009 | John Carlson, Sea. | 51 | 574 | 7 | 150.4 | 13 |
| 2011 | Aaron Hernandez, N.E. | 79 | 910 | 7 | 216.5 | 3 |
| 2011 | Rob Gronkowski, N.E. | 90 | 1,327 | 18 | 330.9 | 1 |
| 2014 | Tim Wright, N.E. | 26 | 259 | 6 | 87.7 | 23 |
| 2018 | Evan Engram, NYG | 45 | 577 | 3 | 126.3 | 13 |
| 2020 | Noah Fant, Den. | 62 | 673 | 3 | 149.3 | 8 |
| 2022 | Kyle Pitts, Atl. | 28 | 356 | 2 | 75.6 | 34 |
| 2022 | Pat Freiermuth, Pitt. | 63 | 732 | 2 | 148.2 | 8 |
| 2023 | Dalton Kincaid, Buff. | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| 2023 | Sam LaPorta, Det. | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
—Ian Allan