Six months after trading one Iowa tight end, the Detroit Lions have drafted another.

The Lions used third pick of the second round of Friday’s 2023 NFL draft, No. 34 overall, to take Iowa tight end Sam LaPorta.

LaPorta was considered one of the top receiving tight ends in a draft deep at the position. He led the Hawkeyes with 58 catches for 687 yards last season, and finished his four-year Iowa career with the most receptions (153) by a tight end in school history.

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"It’s really cool to sort of be the next guy (in the Iowa tight end lineage)," LaPorta said. "I showed up as a freshman and I was just hoping I could sneak onto the field and four years later I leave the University of Iowa and I feel like I’m right up there with the names like T.J. Hockenson and Dallas Clark and Noah Fant. That’s something I’m really proud of."

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz, in a conference call with Detroit reporters Friday afternoon, compared LaPorta and the intangibles he brings to a team to linebacker Jack Campbell, who the Lions took 18th overall in Thursday’s first round.

Campbell and LaPorta were two of Iowa's permanent team captains last season.

“It’s one thing to get a really good football player, it’s another thing to get a guy who really adds value in so many other areas and I think that’s just what Jack does,” Ferentz said. “That’s just how he’s wired. ... I felt the same way about our tight end, Sam LaPorta, a very similar player.

“If you can get a guy like that, I think you’re getting real value there and you’ve got to be thinking big picture long game as well as short-term.”

LaPorta, the second tight end drafted behind Utah’s Dalton Kincaid, joins a young Lions tight end room that delivered steady production last season after the midseason trade of T.J. Hockenson.

The Lions, with Brock Wright, Shane Zylstra and James Mitchell splitting time at the position in the second half of last year, set a franchise record with 12 receiving touchdowns by tight ends.

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LaPorta, 6 feet 3 and 245 pounds, ran a 4.59-second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine in March. According to Pro Football Focus, he led all Big Ten tight ends in yards after catch (299), yards after contact (206) and catches of 15-plus yards (18) last season.

The Lions took LaPorta over Notre Dame's Michael Mayer and Georgia's Darnell Washington, one pick after the Tennessee Titans traded up for quarterback Will Levis. The Lions then moved up three spots to No. 45 and picked Alabama safety Brian Branch. They later traded out of their third second-rounder, No. 55 overall, moving back to No. 63, the final pick in Round 2. The Lions then moved back five spots to No. 68, where they selected Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker early in Round 3.

On Thursday, they opened the draft by taking Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs after a trade down from No. 6, and followed with Campbell at No. 18.

“I’m fired up," LaPorta said. "It’s really a dream come true for me to just live out my dreams and hopes of playing at the highest level in the NFL. I started playing football when I was 10 years old and it’s just a surreal momet for me and my family. Coming into the building here in a few weeks, I’m going to show up, I’m just going to try to add as much value as I can as quickly as I can. The Lions offense last year was extremely explosive, and yeah, I just hope I can contribute to that."

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Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions take Iowa TE Sam LaPorta in second round of NFL draft