Before Drafted, Amon-Ra St. Brown Never Heard of Sam LaPorta

Sam LaPorta excelling during breakout rookie season.

Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown was standing backstage at the 2023 NFL Draft in Kansas City when he learned Sam LaPorta's name. 

The third-year wide receiver was at the event, because he was announcing a selection for the team. The pick he'd read would be Hendon Hooker in the third round. However, he was waiting when he heard that the Lions had taken LaPorta in the second round (No. 34 overall). 

The Iowa product had just five touchdowns in college, and wasn't viewed as the top tight end in his draft class. However, the Lions were interested early. His first formal meeting at the NFL Combine was with the organization.

LaPorta was a guest on St. Brown's 33rd Team podcast this week. Detroit's third-year wideout revealed during the interview that he wasn't familiar with LaPorta prior to seeing his highlight package upon the Lions drafting him.

"They picked you, I'm like, 'Who is this guy? I've never heard of this guy,'" St. Brown said. "I knew we needed a tight end. I'd heard of Michael Mayer, (Dalton) Kincaid, because he went to Utah, he worked USC. I heard of Musgrave, because he went to Oregon State and (former Lions RB) Jermar (Jefferson) went to Oregon State. But, you, I'd never heard of you. I was like, 'Bro, who is this guy?' And then, they showed your highlights." 

Among the highlights St. Brown saw as the selection was announced was a clip of LaPorta barreling through defenders against Kentucky in last year's Music City Bowl. On one catch, he broke through several attempted tackles on a play that caught his new teammate's eye.

"Just off that one clip, I thought, 'Oh s**t, we might have got a dude here,'" St. Brown said. "And then, Jared texted me, he's like, 'Yeah, this dude's legit.' I'm like, 'Bet.'"

Since that day, the rookie has had a transformational impact on Detroit's offense. He is approaching history, as he nears the NFL record for most receiving yards by a rookie tight end. 

In the span of eight months, he's gone from relatively unknown to a household name amongst NFL circles. 

LaPorta broke the organization's record for receiving touchdowns by a tight end in Saturday's win over the Denver Broncos, and is just three off the NFL record for receiving scores by a rookie tight end. 

Yet, the production may be somewhat surprising, given his lack of touchdowns in college. 

With nine scores this season, he's already surpassed his total from the entirety of his college career. In four seasons, LaPorta had just five total touchdowns.

His alma mater has been known for struggling offensively. During his senior season in 2022, the Hawkeyes averaged just 17.7 points per game. LaPorta was the leading receiver that year by a wide margin, hauling in 58 catches for 657 yards but just one touchdown. 

"Yeah, so like my senior year, there's like 131 or 132 FBS teams, and I think we were like 130 in points per game," LaPorta said. "All the statistics, we were coming in pretty close to last. But, I was a part of that, lots of people (were) a part of that. So, that's a story for another time."