Why Lions Hiring Drew Petzing Benefits Sam LaPorta

The Detroit Lions have found the next voice to lead their offense, and their newest hire may benefit one specific area most of all.

Earlier this week, the Lions and head coach Dan Campbell reportedly hired former Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing to replace John Morton in the same role. Petzing comes to Detroit after three seasons leading the Cardinals' offense.

While the Cardinals haven't had the flashiest offense, and Petzing wasn't the hire that many pundits had on their radars, there are underlying metrics that could point to him being an ideal fit for the team. Specifically, his work with the Cardinals' tight ends indicates that Detroit's Sam LaPorta could be in for a big year.

For starters, Petzing's offensive scheme called for plenty of usage and influence for their tight ends. In 2025, the Cardinals ranked third in the league in 13 personnel, meaning formations with one running back and three tight ends on the field. They also ranked fourth in the league in EPA, or expected points added, on plays with this personnel.

By comparison, the Lions ranked 12th in percentage of plays out of 13 personnel and 13th in EPA. Detroit ran many of their 13 personnel plays with LaPorta, Brock Wright and an extra offensive lineman.

Arizona leaned heavily on Trey McBride, who earned First Team All-Pro honors this year as well as his second-career Pro Bowl nod. He was the most-targeted player in the entire NFL at his position with 164 targets, with Atlanta's Kyle Pitts coming in second with a whopping 50 less targets.

Additionally, McBride ranked fourth in the NFL amongst tight ends with at least 50 targets in yards per route run at 1.78.

In Petzing's three seasons, McBride surpassed 800 receiving yards and in each of the last two he crossed over the 1,000 yard plateau. The talented Colorado State product was lined up all over the field, according to Pro Football Focus, with 62.8 percent of his snaps in the slot, 28 percent as an inline tight end and 8.9 percent out wide.

Now, Petzing will have the opportunity to work with another talented pass-catching tight end in LaPorta. The Iowa product has 186 catches over his first three NFL seasons, and was having a solid 2025 campaign before a back injury ended his season after nine games.

He set the NFL record for receptions by a rookie tight end in 2023, though that has since been broken. After a somewhat slow start to his sophomore campaign, LaPorta came on strong and finished the year on a high note and had a solid beginning to the 2025 season before the injury.

LaPorta's versatility is akin to McBride's, and his impact on the offense is paramount. The unit had a clear dip in production and consistency after his injury, as he was a frequent target of Jared Goff's in critical situations and the team struggled in these areas after he went down.

He has the skill set to be utilized similar to how Petzing deployed McBride, be it in the slot, out wide or attached to the line of scrimmage. In doing so, the Lions can diversify the matchups that LaPorta faces between linebackers, cornerbacks and safeties.

This manipulation of matchups can also benefit the likes of Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and even running back Jahmyr Gibbs.

The run game can also be impacted, as LaPorta graded out slightly higher as a run-blocker via PFF than McBride with a 64.9 mark, compared to McBride's 54.1. LaPorta continues to grow as a run-blocker, and as a result the Lions can deploy lighter personnel groupings and still run the ball due to his abilities.

It's worth noting that McBride was utilized heavily in the short passing game, as 73 percent of his targets came at a depth of nine yards or less from the line of scrimmage. This could benefit LaPorta, who has been a short game specialist while also flashing run after catch ability. LaPorta was targeted in this same range 77.8 percent of the time in 2025.

LaPorta is one of the league's most versatile tight ends when healthy, and if he's able to make a full recovery by training camp the team could begin to experiment with some of these different looks.

If McBride's production under Petzing's watch is any indication, LaPorta could be in for an even bigger season in 2025.

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