ALLEN PARK — Detroit Lions cornerback Brian Branch and tight end Sam LaPorta are among the six NFL rookies up for Rookie of the Week honors for Week 3. Both have been standouts in the first three games of their Lions’ careers.
On Sunday, LaPorta scored his first touchdown on a 45-yard pass from Jared Goff. It was one of his eight receptions for 84 yards. LaPorta was a second-round pick out of Iowa.
Branch led the defense with 11 tackles, he also had two pass defenses and three tackles for loss.
Both rookies were second-round picks. LaPorta (Iowa) at 34th overall and Branch (Alabama) at 45th overall.
“What we saw in college was, a few of the things that really caught our eye, it’s one thing to see the production in college but to know they’re very instinctive aware players,’’ coach Dan Campbell said on Tuesday. “They’re smart and they play fast. What you saw in college is what you’re starting to see here. Their instincts are there. They work extremely hard and I would say they’re both becoming pretty dependable pretty quickly.’’
They both make occasional rookie errors but Campbell said they’re growing extremely fast.
“They’re both guys who don’t make the same mistake twice. When you’re talking about rookies who can grow and develop quickly that’s what they all have in common,’’ the coach added.
While they’re getting acclaim this week, running back Jahmyr Gibbs and linebacker Jack Campbell have also played well.
Others in the running for rookie of the week are Denver WR Marvin Mims, Miami RB DeVon Achane, Houston QB C.J. Stroud and Houston WR Tank Dell.
Votes can be cast at NFL.com/voting/rookies.
INJURY UPDATE
Left tackle Taylor Decker, who has missed two games, and running back David Montgomery, who sat out one, are trending in the right direction to play on Thursday at Green Bay according to Campbell on Tuesday.
Safety Kerby Joseph is still “wait and see” while cornerback Emmanuel Moseley, who has not played yet this season, will probably have to wait since the Lions weren’t practicing this week (just walk-throughs) due to the short turnaround time.
Lions Lowdown 