Sam LaPorta
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FOX Sports's Ralph Vacchiano proposed the Detroit Lions trade tight end Sam LaPorta in a first-round draft pick swap with the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Detroit Lions might not be able to afford tight end Sam LaPorta in NFL free agency next offseason. Pundits have already begun speculating that will be the case with the Lions needing to re-sign a lot of their young stars soon.
But the potential inability to not be able to re-sign LaPorta could give Detroit an opportunity in the 2026 NFL Draft.
That’s what FOX Sports’s Ralph Vacchiano suggested this week. On Wednesday, Vacchiano named LaPorta the one player the Kansas City Chiefs should trade for during the 2026 NFL Draft.
Vacchiano projected LaPorta’s trade value to be a second-round pick. But instead of a second-rounder, the NFL analyst proposed the Lions and Chiefs swap first-rounders in the deal involving LaPorta.
Such a move would move the Lions from No. 17 overall to No. 9 in the first round.
“LaPorta is coming off back surgery, heading into the last year of his contract and may get squeezed out in Detroit, where the Lions have a lot of young players to sign,” wrote Vacchiano. “It would probably cost the Chiefs a second-round pick.
“As an alternative, they could consider a package that involves swapping first-rounders instead.”
Vacchiano also included a Chiefs 2027 conditional fourth-round pick going to Detroit in the hypothetical deal.
LaPorta made the Pro Bowl as a rookie in 2023 with 86 catches, 889 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. In 42 career games, LaPorta has posted 186 receptions, 2,104 receiving yards and 20 scores.