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Sam LaPorta was selected by the Detroit Lions in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of Iowa.

Ben Johnson likes tight ends. That’s a secret that is relatively well known across the league. The Chicago Bears implemented 12 and 13-personnel, two and three-tight-end formations, at the second-highest rates last season. The current wave of the NFL is moving towards these heavy tight-end sets to combat the new adaptation of the hybrid safety. Think Derwin James and Nick Emmanwori. Players who are fast enough to cover a slot receiver like a nickel defensive back, but are also big enough to blitz and plug run gaps like a linebacker. The solution, get a big and athletic tight end out there who can match their speed and size. It breaks the advantage. And then, instead of putting just one out there, now the team puts two or three players like that on the field. How does a defense match that? 

So, just a season after adding first-round pick Colston Loveland to a position room that already had a well-established tight end in Cole Kmet, the Bears decided to add two more this offseason. 

The Bears drafted Sam Roush out of Stanford with the 69th overall selection in the third round. A 6’6’’ frame with 4.7-second 40-yard dash speed certainly fits the bill as one of those checkmate pieces to beat a hybrid safety. Despite Roush being selected, Ben Johnson revealed that he had his eyes on adding another tight end prospect that he had reached out to before the draft even began.

Ben Johnson Has A Vision For Iowa Hawkeyes Tight End Hayden Large

GettyIowa Hawkeyes tight end Hayden Large caught eight passes for 52 yards in 2025.

Following the draft, the Bears signed Iowa Hawkeyes tight end Hayden Large as an undrafted free agent. “He was one of the guys we identified, well before the draft, that he’s a player we really liked,” Johnson told reporters at rookie minicamp. “Quick story about him, you know, guys do a great job trying to recruit some of these guys we think might fall through the cracks and go undrafted. I actually called him [Hayden Large] and let him know that we had a vision for him. When you take a tight end in the third round [Sam Roush], you’re kind of like ‘ah shoot’. That might take us away from Hayden coming here. And yet, he didn’t bat an eye. This is where he wanted to be, and to me that speaks volumes about how he’s wired…I think we got a good one.”

Large was a walk-on at Iowa and battled his way into a role on their offense. Large doesn’t possess the statistical or athletic pedigree that Roush does. At 6’4’’ and 250 pounds, Large ran a 4.72-second 40-yard dash. He did garner a Raw Athletic Score of 8.92 out of 10, which was 158th out of 1,456 tight end prospects since 1987. He was mainly used as a run-blocker and fullback hybrid in college. 

However, as Johnson stated, he clearly has a vision for him on offense. That could be as run support for an offense that wants to establish a ground game. But based on his good athletic testing, there’s a chance Johnson could see more in him. He wouldn’t be the first Hawkeye tight end that Johnson has worked with.

Iowa Tight End’s Have A Solid History Of Transitioning Well Into The NFL

Ben Johnson helped turn former Iowa Hawkeyes tight end Sam LaPorta into one of the best players at his position. Despite catching only one touchdown in his final college season, LaPorta exploded his rookie season with the Lions, scoring 10 times in Ben Johnson’s offense. 

Iowa has a history of translating tight ends successfully at the NFL level. Laporta caps off a list that includes Noah Fant, T.J. Hockenson, and George Kittle. Kittle, in particular, is interesting because he was also primarily used as a run-blocker throughout college. It wasn’t until he reached the professional league that his full skill set was used.

GettyTight end George Kittle caught 22 passes for 314 yards and four touchdowns his final season at Iowa.

Unsurprisingly, it took a creative playcaller like Kyle Shanahan to unlock his potential. Could Ben Johnson be doing the same with Large? Only time will tell, but the fact that Johnson felt the need to alert him before the draft shows that he’s interested in that potential at the very least.

Justin Platt NFL MultiMedia Journalist and Writer at Heavy Sports More about Justin Platt