NFL player prop: Portable passing game

As noted pugilist Elton John famously sang, “Saturday night’s alright for fighting.” A prime-time interconference battle caps the first Saturday slate of the NFL season, with the 9-4 Lions playing host to the 7-6 Broncos. When Denver most recently visited Detroit eight years ago, Peyton Manning was in the midst of concluding his Hall of Fame career — and freshman football was being played by the subject of our top prop:

The bet: Over 47½ receiving yards for Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (DraftKings)

Just a three-star recruit out of high school, LaPorta chose to attend the tight-end factory that is Iowa and blossomed into an all-conference selection. After being drafted in the second round this spring, he has quickly earned the trust of quarterback Jared Goff, seeing at least five targets in every game but one.

Against the Saints two weeks ago, LaPorta caught all nine of the passes thrown to him and established a new career high with 140 yards. His two lowest outputs have actually come in the last month versus the increasingly stingy pass defense of the Bears. When those totals — 18 and 23 — are removed, LaPorta is averaging 60 receiving yards per game.

Meanwhile, the Broncos rank 24th in pass defense and surrender the second-most yards to tight ends. They’ve allowed this mark to be cleared by several recent opponents, including the Texans’ Brevin Jordan (64 yards), the Browns’ David Njoku (59), the Chiefs’ Travis Kelce (58), the Vikings’ T.J. Hockenson (55) and the Bills’ Dalton Kincaid (51).

Running routes in the pristine home environment of Ford Field, LaPorta should add his name to the list.