From the episode

I'd probably take Laporta with some safety there... Likely looks great, but the McCarthy experiment has not been super kind to him so far.

STACKED’s take

Positive signalRole

Laporta preferred over Likely due to McCarthy scheme concerns for Likely.

JJ McCarthy prefers Sam Laporta over Kyle Likely in a trade return, citing safety and noting that while Likely looks great, the McCarthy experiment has not been super kind to him so far, suggesting Laporta offers more stability.

Sam LaPorta headshotSam LaPortaTE · DETPlayer page — value, ADP, projections, and every insight