As LaPorta surpasses Pettigrew, Lions' Campbell sees shades of former teammate Shockey

Allen Park — What Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta has accomplished as a first-year player has been nothing short of remarkable. On Saturday night against the Dallas Cowboys, with an 8-yard reception late in the first quarter, he established yet another franchise milestone, surpassing Brandon Pettigrew's single-season receiving yardage mark for the position.

To be clear, we're not talking about another rookie record. LaPorta has progressed to rewriting the franchise record books for his position, regardless of experience. He similarly passed Jim Gibbons' single-season touchdown mark two weeks earlier, and with 84 yards against the Cowboys, LaPorta has amassed 860 yards on the season, easily besting the 777 Pettigrew posted in 2011. At this point, we can comfortably say he is having the best overall season for a tight end in Lions history.

Lions coach Dan Campbell has seen this before. Not so much in the mirror, if we're being honest. He carved out a quality, decade-long career in the NFL, but he was always more about the dirty work than a source of premium production in the passing game. But as a fourth-year player with the New York Giants, Campbell had the opportunity to play alongside Jeremy Shockey, who arguably pieced together the league's best rookie season for a tight end, prior to LaPorta.

Outwardly, the two players couldn't be more different. Shockey was brash, with long hair and tattoos. LaPorta is far more reserved, with the all-American look of someone you'd be OK with your daughter dating. But between the lines, Campbell sees obvious similarities.

"I would say Shockey, and I love that man, but he never turned it off, on or off the field," Campbell told The Detroit News. "That's kind of who he was, how he lived and how he rolled. That's what made him what he was, in his own regard. Sam is the other way. It's much more about being more reserved, more low-key, but when it's time to hit the field, he's fully going. 

"But, they have this competitive fire that's very similar. I would say that Sam is able to keep his much more reserved, or in check, just outwardly. Jeremy much more wore his emotion on his sleeve. But when you put a guy in front of that guy, I don't care if it's in practice at the end of the year in a one-on-one, or it's in a big-time game, he's going to be at his best and refuses to lose. LaPorta has that. I'm telling you, that's a rare quality, even in this league."

Campbell shared a memory from that 2002 season he spent with Shockey in New York. It was late in the year, and the Giants were preparing for an upcoming matchup with division-rival Philadelphia. Running one-on-ones between the tight ends and the safeties, one of the team's veterans called out Shockey, who didn't blink.

"He's like, 'Let's go!' and he just ran up there, sprinted up there and let him have it," Campbell said. "It was like a Super Bowl rep and made sure to tell him about it afterwards. That's just the way he was. There's something to be said for that."

The story brought to mind some of LaPorta's earliest reps in a Lions uniform, where he had some eye-opening success in one-on-one drills against fellow rookie and former college teammate Jack Campbell, who shares that same competitive fire as the two tight ends.

As for Shockey, he had a long and successful career, including four Pro Bowl selections, but his production never grew beyond that rookie season, when he caught a personal-best 74 balls for a career-high 894 yards. That will be LaPorta's challenge, building on what he's accomplishing this year and inching closer to the elite production we've seen from the likes of Travis Kelce, George Kittle and Mark Andrews in recent years.

After catching seven passes in the loss to the Cowboys, LaPorta needs just three to surpass Pettigrew for most receptions by a Lions tight end in a single season. The seven catches also allowed LaPorta to match the NFL record for receptions by a first-year tight end. He needs one more next week to unseat Keith Jackson, who caught 81 balls for the Philadelphia Eagles as a rookie in 1988.

LaPorta's 860 yards rank fifth for all first-year tight ends. With 35 in the finale, he'll jump Shockey for third on that chart, behind only Kyle Pitts (1,026 in 2021) and Mike Ditka (1,076 in 1961).

jdrogers@detroitnews.com

@Justin_Rogers