Detroit Lions observations: Rookie tight Sam LaPorta earning his keep; pads come on Friday

Sam LaPorta has made the transition from college to the NFL look easy, but when a reporter mentioned how smooth things seem to have gone for him after the Detroit Lions' fourth practice of training camp Wednesday, the rookie tight end said that was hardly the case.

“I think those are your words, not mine," LaPorta said. "Smooth? It’s been a bumpy road. Learning the playbook, it’s big and I think that’s really given me the opportunity to at least get the reps and then hopefully I keep proving out on the field why I deserve to be there."

LaPorta has excelled as a pass catcher early in training camp - dating back to Organized Team Activities this spring, really - and is in line to be the Lions' primary tight end when they open the season Sept. 7 against the Kansas City Chiefs.

I wrote about his promotion to the starting lineup after spending the spring working as a backup in my first set of observations this summer, and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson confirmed the obvious about why LaPorta was so quick to ascend the depth chart when he met with reporters before practice Wednesday.

"I think as a coaching staff, we’re very much, ‘You need to earn your stripes,’" Johnson said. "And so you saw in the springtime, he got minimal work with the first team and he’s earned the right now to be in that first-team huddle with Jared (Goff) and that offensive line. He’s proven that over the course of the springtime and the work that he’s put in. So, encouraged with where he’s going. He’s still making mistakes, he’s still learning, we are putting a lot of pressure on him to pick it up. But I think he's in a really good spot for a first-year tight end, particularly with the volume we are playing with the installs right now."

LaPorta is not repping exclusively with the first-team offense. Goff, in fact, was the only Lions quarterback who he did not catch a pass from Wednesday.

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But LaPorta said being in the huddle with the first team has helped accelerate his development as an all-around player.

"It’s great just to be in the huddle, to hear the play call, to be out there with the ones, to get the opportunity," he said. "So I believe it’s speeding up the process in which I'm playing and just how the game is slowing down for me."

Historically, tight ends have struggled to make an impact as rookies because of the breadth of roles the position requires players to play. Just two rookie tight ends have topped 1,000 yards in NFL history, and before Kyle Pitts hit that mark in 2021, no rookie tight end had eclipsed even 800 yards since Jeremy Shockey in 2002.

LaPorta is built to be a pass game and red zone weapon early in his career, which is perhaps why he's looked so good in non-padded practices. But before he can have an every-down impact, he'll have to prove he can handle the physical side of the game.

That starts Friday, when the Lions return to the field for their first padded practice of summer and are sure to test LaPorta as both a run and pass blocker. On one play Wednesday, LaPorta was left to block Aidan Hutchinson one-on-one and it did not go well. Hutchinson beat the rookie with ease to tag David Montgomery down for a would-be tackle-for-loss.

"It is kind of a reset button," LaPorta said. "At the position playing tight end, it’s an advantage for us. We get to use our pads against maybe smaller defenders, maybe use the chicken wing a little bit. Not push off, but just use your physicality to create separation and yeah, hit that reset button and start all over again Friday."

More observations from Wednesday's practice:

∎ I haven't mentioned Hutchinson much in observations these first few days, but he seems poised for a big year. He's been a constant in the Lions' offensive backfield the past few days and should benefit from some of the matchups the Lions are able to create when they deploy Charles Harris or James Houston at strong-side linebacker in their base defense. With John Cominsky, Isaiah Buggs and Alim McNeill across the rest of the line, Hutchinson is bound to get his share of single blocks that he is quite capable of defeating.

∎ The defense had a better day overall Wednesday after Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown and the rest of the offense moved the ball with ease Tuesday. The defense did not have any takeaways for the first time this summer, but Hutchinson beat Brock Wright for a would-be sack on the first play of the Lions' second team period and the defensive line tipped at least four passes at the line of scrimmage and did a good job shutting down running lanes.

Isaiah Buggs had one tipped pass on a Goff throw early in practice, and Nate Sudfeld had three balls tipped at the line, something that's been a problem for him the past few days.

"I think I just need to get a little taller," the 6-6 Sudfeld joked after practice. "No, I mean, we've got some big guys on the D-line and they're definitely getting really active with their hands up, making it tough on us. And yeah, it's impressive. I would love to see them do that a lot next year cause it's very frustrating to a quarterback when you see the read, see a guy open and it gets batted down. It just really can make you mad, but it's really cool to see them do it and it's a good challenge for us to keep working on."

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∎ Rookie linebacker Jack Campbell got some run with the first-team defense in its base package Wednesday, with Derrick Barnes - who has taken most of the first-team reps alongside Alex Anzalone - replacing him in nickel packages.

I thought Campbell did a good job in coverage on David Montgomery on one seven-on-seven play, when he saw Montgomery jet motion from one side of the field to the other and made a beeline towards the running back on the snap of the ball. Goff was forced to throw the ball out of bounds when none of his receivers were open downfield and Campbell had Montgomery blankted as a check-down receiver.

One play later, Campbell collided with Tom Kennedy on a pass down the seam. Kennedy showed his toughness, hanging onto the ball, but he landed hard on his shoulder and spent a few minutes with trainers on behind the action.

One more linebacker note: Malcolm Rodriguez made what I thought was the defensive play of the day, diving to break up a Sudfeld pass to Derrick Deese near the end of practice.

∎ On Tuesday, Goff thew an interception in the Lions' end-of-practice situational period. On Wednesday, Sudfeld led the second-team offense to a field goal in a similar situation: First-and-10 from the 38-yard line, 1:02 on the clock.

Sudfeld completed a couple of check-down passes to Craig Reynolds to get across midfield, then after missing on a deep ball to Antoine Green, Reynolds caught another short pass that was tipped at the line of scrimmage. Sudfeld threw one more quick out to Dylan Drummond for a few extra yards and Riley Patterson made a 45-yard field goal from the right hash.

∎ Both Patterson and Parker Romo went 4 for 5 on field goals Wednesday (not including that end-of-practice kick by Patterson). Patterson appeared to miss his first kick wide right from about 34 yards, while Romo put a 39-yarder off the left upright. I know I've written this before, but Romo has thunder in his leg. If he can tame his accuracy, he could be a weapon.

∎ Undrafted rookie tackle Ryan Swoboda (6-9, 315 pounds) is the biggest offensive lineman I think I've ever seen. He'll be someone to keep an eye on once pads come on. On Wednesday, he had a nice pass rush rep when he stayed with Houston on a spin move to keep the outside linebacker away from the quarterback.

∎ Final observation for the day: Cornerback Jerry Jacobs had some fun at the end of the Lions' first special teams period Wednesday, when he lined up as the return man against Amon-Ra St. Brown as the defender in a box tackling drill the Lions do often.

As a refresher, the players line up 10 yards apart, diagonal from each other, and the defender tries to tag the ball carrier down before he breaks the 10-yard mark. It's a test of short-area quickness, and players like St. Brown and Kalif Raymond are the toughest to stop in the drill. Jacobs sidestepped St. Brown's first attempt at a tackle, then broke into celebration before he made his second move as he was swarmed by his fellow defensive players.

"I was just trying to show them that the drill ain’t that easy," Jacobs said. "So I told him like, let me go one time, so I just had to give him that, that’s all."

Asked if he planned his move ahead of time, Jacobs said, "I’m an athlete, man. I’m an athlete. It just comes natural."

"I had to get him back," Jacobs said." You know how it is, show him that defense ain’t that easy, so I just compete. That’s my guy, man. We’re going to go at it."

Raymond (against Chase Lucas), Justin Jackson (on Rodriguez) and Tom Kennedy (vs. Cam Sutton) also had good reps as ball carriers, while Jalen Reeves-Maybin (on Jermar Jefferson) and Anthony Pittman (on Mo Ibrahim) made big hits on defense.

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lions observations: Rookie TE Sam LaPorta keeps earning his keep