Who Should I Start? Sam LaPorta or Erick All Jr.

Thursday, June 5, 6:21 PM

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell said that tight end Sam LaPorta has been a standout during voluntary organized team activities this offseason. Campbell also praised plenty of other Lions players, but LaPorta is a notable one after he took a step back in Year 2 in 2024 with a 60-726-7 line in 16 regular-season starts. As a Pro Bowler in his rookie campaign, the 24-year-old went for 86 receptions on 120 targets for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns in 17 regular-season games (14 starts). The former second-rounder (34th overall) in 2023 out of Iowa finished the year better, but there are just a lot of mouths to feed in Detroit's offense. The Lions will be run by new offensive coordinator John Morton in 2025, but LaPorta should still be a go-to red zone target for quarterback Jared Goff as a high-end TE1.

Tuesday, January 28, 1:04 PM

Cincinnati Bengals tight end Erick All Jr. (knee), who tore his right ACL on Nov. 3 against the Las Vegas Raiders, is expected to miss all of the 2025 season due to complications from a previous knee surgery in college, according to team and league sources. All will need two surgeries to fix the issue. The 24-year-old fell to the fourth round of the 2024 draft because of medical concerns. In addition to his knee injury, he suffered a back injury in 2022 while at Michigan that led to "life-changing" spine surgery. All has now ended the last three years with an injury. His second knee surgery should set him up to hit the ground running in 2026, and the Bengals hope All can pick up where he left off in his rookie season when he caught 20 of 22 targets for 158 yards in nine games before tearing his ACL. All's biggest impact came in the running game as a blocker, though.