Lions' Tight Ends Will Be Assets for Jared Goff

Lions confident in tight ends room entering 2024.

Dec 3, 2023; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Detroit Lions tight end James Mitchell (82) during warmups before the game against the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports / Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

The Lions will enter the 2024 season with Sam LaPorta as one of Jared Goff's go-to targets.

The second-year tight end had a rookie season to remember. 

LaPorta, the No. 34 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, caught the most passes by a rookie tight end in league history (86). Plus, he became just the third rookie at the position to finish with at least 10 receiving touchdowns. And, on top of all that, the Iowa product recorded 889 receiving yards, the fifth-highest mark by a tight end in 2023. 

While LaPorta is the clear-cut leader of Detroit's tight ends room, Brock Wright is as surefire of a No. 2 as you can get.

The Lions showcased just how much they valued the fourth-year tight end by matching the three-year offer sheet that was given to him this offseason by the reigning NFC champion San Francisco 49ers. It resulted in a three-year, $12 million deal with Detroit for Wright, who secured 13 receptions for 91 yards and a score in 14 games a season ago.

“I was fired up for him and us,” Lions tight ends coach Steve Heiden said of the organization’s decision to bring back Wright. “He kind of embodies what we want the players to be around here. He’s smart, tough. He brings it every day. He just does it the right way, and you just want a guy like that on your team.”

Behind LaPorta and Wright on the Lions’ tight ends depth chart are James Mitchell and Shane Zylstra. Mitchell and Zylstra are expected to battle it out this summer for the No. 3 TE job in Motown.

Mitchell, a second-year pro in 2023, caught just two balls for 28 yards in 15 games last season. The Virginia Tech product closed out the ‘23 campaign on injured reserve with a hand injury.

“James has done a nice job,” Heiden said of Mitchell. “When he had the opportunity to play, he made some plays late in the season. Came in at Minnesota (in Week 18), did some things that we just got to continue on that same path and trajectory and see where it takes us this year.”

Meanwhile, Zylstra, a reserve tight end in Detroit since 2021, did not suit up for a single game in 2023. His best season as a pro came in 2022 when he caught 11 balls for 60 yards and four touchdowns. 

He spent the entire past season on injured reserve with a knee ailment that he suffered in training camp last summer. He was injured near the end of a practice when he caught a short pass in the flat and was hit low – in the knee – by defensive back Khalil Dorsey.

“Really good to have him back,” Heiden said of Zylstra. “He hasn’t missed a beat. He looks like himself out there, so it’s nice to have him back. … It’s just getting into the football stuff, the stuff you can’t mimic when you’re just working out. So, he’s done a good job. He’s always in his playbook, knows what to do.”

Heiden is clearly a fan of Detroit's tight ends room, which also includes former Michigan and Dallas Cowboys tight end Sean McKeon and ex-Atlanta Falcons TE Parker Hesse. The second-year Lions tight ends coach is looking forward to having this capable group of players further “hone” its skills during training camp.

“Some of the things that we come up with as a group that we need to work on, both in the run game and in the pass game, just try to hone those things in,” Heiden expressed. “You can still go through technique and do all those things, even though we’re doing a walkthrough. It can still be a mindset and thought of when you’re doing the walkthrough stuff, even though it’s not physical.”