With the 34th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions took Iowa tight end Sam LaPorta. He was the second tight end off the board (Dalton Kincaid, No. 25 overall to the Buffalo Bills was the first), just ahead of Michael Mayer, who went to the Las Vegas Raiders with the next pick.
The Lions' pick of LaPorta wasn't quite met with the same derision from draft analysts as their first two picks in last April's draft. But Mayer was generally regarded as the better prospect and a potential first-rounder, so passing on him early in the second round was a little bit surprising.
Still, LaPorta immediately became the best tight end on the Lions' roster and he showed it upon arrival. He had a record-setting rookie season, with 86 receptions for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns. He now owns all the single-season records for a Lions' tight end, rookie or veteran, and the NFL record for catches by a rookie tight end.
In hindsight, there are clearly teams who missed on an opportunity to draft LaPorta, or just missed getting a chance to take him. It's very possible he wouldn't have had nearly the same success he did this year in another situation. LaPorta benefits from having a former NFL tight end as a head coach in Detroit, and Lions'' offensive coordinator Ben Johnson was previously the tight ends coach.
The stars aligned to put LaPorta in Detroit, into a situation with a big role available and a coaching staff that could accelerate his development even more than his talent pushed it. But what teams should be the most sad about not getting him in last year's draft?