Exit Interviews: Sam LaPorta offset Lions' decreased usage of team's tight ends with increased efficiency
Wrapping up the Detroit Lions’ 2024 season, we’re doing a position-by-position evaluation of the roster. Today, we’ll focus on the play of the team’s tight ends.
The straightforward stats
Sam LaPorta: 83 targets, 60 receptions, 726 yards, seven touchdowns
Brock Wright: 16 targets, 13 receptions, 100 yards, two touchdowns
Advanced metrics
Due to a reliance on the backfield tandem of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, plus the emergence of Jameson Williams, Detroit’s tight ends saw a significant decline in usage from the previous season. The group saw a drop in target rate from 22.5% to 18.6%. Overall, the team threw to a tight end on 8.7% of its offensive snaps, down from 11.5% in 2023.
After setting the franchise records for receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns at his position as a rookie, LaPorta’s stat line took a correlating step back because of that decline in targets. Things were particularly sluggish early in the season while he was working his way back from a hamstring issue suffered during training camp.
But if we focus on the way he finished the year, LaPorta racked up 29 receptions for 335 yards across the final five games. That’s a full-season pace of 99 grabs and 1,139 yards, more in line with high-end preseason expectations.
Another silver lining is LaPorta was more impactful per catch, averaging 12.1 yards in his second season compared to 10.3 yards as a rookie. Most of that came from a 1.5-yard increase after the catch. His catch rate also improved slightly, from 71.7% to 72.3%, mainly due to trimming his drops by 80%.
As for Wright, he continues to be a block-first option. Of his 583 offensive snaps, more than 500 came off-tackle or in the backfield.