Big Board ranking: #75
Positional ranking: #5
Overview
Position: TE
College: Iowa
Class: Senior
Age: 22
Measurables
Height: 6’3 1/4″
Weight: 245 lbs.
Arm length: 32 1/8”
Hand size: 10 1/4″
Athletic testing
40-yard dash: 4.59 sec.
10-yard split: 1.59 sec.
Vertical jump: 35.0”
Broad jump: 123.0”
Bench press: N/A
3-cone drill: 6.91 sec.
Short shuttle: 4.25 sec.
Strengths
Tremendous speed and quickness. Extremely crisp breaking with quick feet on underneath routes. Deceptive selling routes by sticking his opposite foot in the ground. Superb release footwork. Uses his hands to combat opponents on releases. Will be physical with his hands throughout the route. Soft hands and catches the ball away from his body. Has shown he can make difficult catches in tight coverage. Great eyes and reaction time to locate the ball. Excellent on corner routes. Quick breaks on speed outs. Fast and smooth running downfield routes. Catches like a wide receiver on over-the-shoulder grabs. Commits to blocking before disengaging as the outlet target on delayed routes. Dangerous on screen passes. Extremely elusive with excellent vision after the catch. Runs with strength and determination. Excels at breaking tackles. Saw a ton of snaps both in the slot and on the outside. Plenty of experience with in-line blocking duties. Very willing blocker in general. Moves his feet well in pass protection. Took a snap as a wildcat quarterback in final career game.
Weaknesses
Can lose balance and get knocked down by contact as a route runner. Needs to be better dealing with contact at all levels. Deeper out routes sometimes need to be flatter. Would like to see more consistency on contested catches. Not a big target down the seam. Blocking can improve in terms of leverage and staying attached.
NFL comparison
Dallas Clark
Conclusion
Overall, LaPorta is a smooth tight end with impressive route running, quickness, toughness, and run-after-catch ability. He can work as a traditional in-line option in addition to seeing isolation looks from various spots.