The Green Bay Packers defense will have its hands full on Thursday night with rookie tight Sam LaPorta of the Detroit Lions. He is one of the players to watch out for on Detroit’s offense when Green Bay is on defense. Fans have been critical of defensive coordinator Joe Barry for the first weeks of the season and now he will be tasked with trying to slow down one of the Lions’ top weapons.
Sam LaPorta was a second-round selection out of Iowa. Through the first three games of his rookie season for the Detroit Lions, he has caught eight passes for 186 yards receiving and one touchdown. He is averaging 10.3 yards per catch.
LaPorta, against the Atlanta Falcons this past Sunday, caught eight passes for 84 yards receiving and a touchdown. He averaged 10.5 yards per catch in that contest.
This past weekend, the Green Bay Packers did give up a touchdown reception to tight end Jimmy Graham in the 18-17 miraculous win against the New Orleans Saints. Sam LaPorta could be targeted all game long by the Packers defense, and they need to be ready for it.
Sam LaPorta of the Detroit Lions Could Give Green Bay Packers Defense Problems and Also be in the Rookie of the Year Conversation
LaPorta is potentially going to be in the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year conversation, along with Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, if this keeps up. Sam LaPorta is a huge part of the Detroit Lions offense and is going to be all season. He is currently the second receiving option, right behind Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Detroit’s offense is going to be a problem on Thursday night for the Green Bay Packers defense. They will be able to run the football with rookie Jahmyr Gibbs and potentially set up play-action for quarterback Jared Goff. It could leave some open routes for LaPorta, and it is going to be a handful. He is becoming a fantasy football stud and a real-life stud before our very eyes.
His longest catch of the season up to this point is 45 yards. That catch was a 45-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter of Sunday’s win against the Atlanta Falcons. He told Vito Chirko of Sports Illustrated:
“Thanks to the big guys for holding up, to allow Jared to launch that ball down the field to me. But, yeah, it felt like it hung in the air for 15 seconds. I was just praying for it to come down.”
He also had family at this past football game, and Sam LaPorta added:
“It was really cool. I had a lot of family here today. For them to witness that and experience it with me, it was bascially right in front of them, in the family section. So, that was really cool.”
LaPorta could also be a game-breaker in this offense. It will be interesting to see how the Packers’ defense will cover him on Thursday night. If they let him loose for a big game, it will be tough to stop their offense.
