Sam LaPorta Is The Guy And We All Know It
Sam LaPorta is the Detroit Lions tight end room. That is not up for debate. The concern right now is the back injury from last year, but here is the good news: LaPorta was participating in OTAs and mandatory minicamp. He was in walkthroughs. That is more than you can say for Kirby Joseph and Brian Branch, who did not participate at all. The expectation is LaPorta will be ready to go on day one of training camp, and that is all that matters.
He is one of the best security blankets Jared Goff has ever had. LaPorta is not just a receiving threat with rare yards after catch ability. He is also a solid run blocker and pass blocker. You could see it last year when he was not there. The offense changed. The flow was off. Getting him back changes everything for this offense, and if you watched last year when he wasn’t there, you know exactly what I am talking about.
Tyler Conklin Should Be The Tight End 2
A lot of people are putting Brock Wright over Tyler Conklin in the depth chart conversation. That is wrong. Conklin is going to wind up being the Lions tight end 2 once the season starts, and it is based on what offensive coordinator Drew Petzing did in Arizona and what Detroit is attempting to do with 12 and 13 personnel.
Look at the Rams and the Steelers. They have multiple solid receiving threat tight ends on the field at the same time. Conklin is a receiving threat. Look at what he was able to do with the New York Jets last year. With the Chargers, it was a bad place for him to be. They were pretty set at tight end and did not need him.
In Detroit, the Lions can absolutely use him as the tight end 2. He is not going to get 500 receiving yards, but the thing that really puts him over Wright is that he is a better blocker. He is a better run blocker, he is a better pass blocker, and that matters for what the Lions want to do with 12 and 13 personnel. They want to be able to block, but they also want a guy who can go out and catch the ball. Conklin is just the better player all around.
Brock Wright’s Spot Isn’t As Safe As You Think
Wright is making a decent amount of money for someone expected to be a tight end 3. He is more than likely going to make the team, but there are guys nipping at his heels. We have seen the annual once a year big play for a touchdown from Wright. He will get you one 35 yard touchdown per year, and you go all right Brock Wright can do anything. But he is not a consistent threat. Last year, he really struggled with blocking, especially in the run game.
That is a problem for a team that wants to run the damn ball.
The Two Players Who Could Steal A Spot
First, Zach Horton, an undrafted free agent from last year. Horton was a really good run blocker at Indiana. The Lions are a run first team. That is their identity. But he also has the ability to play fullback, which none of these other tight ends can do. Detroit has not used a true fullback in a couple of years, going back to Jason Cabinda and experimenting with Malcolm Rodriguez. Horton gives them a chance to bring that position back into the offense, and that is just an additional blocker for Jahmyr Gibbs and Isaiah Pacheco.
Then there is Miles Kitselman, the undrafted free agent out of Tennessee from this year’s draft. He is a strong run blocker and was a good pass blocker in the SEC, going up against the kind of defensive talent that gets drafted in the first round. He is not much of a receiving threat (26 receptions for 253 yards and 2 touchdowns last year), but Tennessee actually used him at fullback too, and he brings some special teams ability.
Kitselman and Horton are worth watching closely. That is one of the big battles heading into training camp, and if either one of them shows up and shows out in Allen Park, Brock Wright might be looking over his shoulder more than he expected.
There is also Thomas Gordon, who spent time with the Chicago Bears and in the UFL. He is a blocking tight end by nature, but we need to see what he looks like at training camp before we can really add him to the conversation. At this point, he is somebody who is going to be at camp, and we will see where it goes.
Do you think Brock Wright makes the roster or are we about to see Brad Holmes do his thing and find value in an UDFA blocking tight end nobody saw coming? Drop your take below.
