LaFell was considered one of the best wide receivers in his draft class, and drew comparisons to
Dwayne Bowe, another wide receiver out of LSU.
Carolina Panthers On April 23, 2010, LaFell was selected by the
Carolina Panthers in the third round, 78th overall. Despite not starting over
Steve Smith and
David Gettis, he gradually gained playing time, eventually taking the #3 slot at receiver. He recorded his first NFL touchdown in Week 8 against the
St. Louis Rams, a 17-yard pass from
Matt Moore. He finished the season with 38 catches for 468 yards; his longest catch was of 44 yards. He also gained 60 additional yards on the ground, all of which came on a single
end-around play in Week 17 against the
Atlanta Falcons, his longest gain of the season. LaFell set a
Carolina Panthers franchise record on Christmas Eve in 2011 with a 91-yard touchdown catch from rookie quarterback
Cam Newton. It was the longest pass play in Panther history.
New England Patriots On March 15, 2014, LaFell signed a three-year, $9 million contract with the
New England Patriots. He chose to wear #19 because friend and former teammate
Ted Ginn Jr. wears the same number. Against the
Chicago Bears in Week 8, LaFell recorded a career-high eleven catches for 124 yards and a touchdown. In 2014, LaFell had his most prolific season, recording 74 catches for 953 yards and 7 touchdowns. LaFell helped the Patriots finish 12–4. In the divisional round against the
Baltimore Ravens, with the Patriots down 31–28, LaFell caught the game-winning touchdown to help the Patriots defeat the Ravens 35–31. In
Super Bowl XLIX, LaFell had 4 catches for 29 yards and the first touchdown of the game as the Patriots defeated the
Seattle Seahawks 28–24. LaFell started the 2015 season on
PUP with a foot injury and missed the first five games of the season before returning in New England's 30–23 win over the
New York Jets. LaFell struggled throughout the 2015 season with multiple drops and failed to live up to his career performance the previous year. On March 2, 2016, LaFell was released by the Patriots.
Cincinnati Bengals On March 30, 2016, LaFell signed with the
Cincinnati Bengals. On September 11, 2016, LaFell made his Bengals debut in a 23–22 victory over the
New York Jets. He had four receptions for 91 yards. He played 16 games in
2016, starting 14 of them as the Bengals went 6–9–1 and missed the playoffs. He finished the season with 64 receptions for 862 yards and six touchdowns. On March 8, 2017, LaFell signed a two-year contract extension with the Bengals. On September 10, 2017, LaFell began the
2017 season with three receptions for 24 yards in a 20–0 loss to the
Baltimore Ravens. He finished the season with 52 receptions for 548 yards and three touchdowns. On August 2, 2018, Lafell was released by the Bengals.
Oakland Raiders On September 3, 2018, LaFell signed with the
Oakland Raiders. He played in six games, recording 12 catches for 135 yards and two touchdowns, before suffering a torn Achilles in Week 11. He was placed on injured reserve on November 19, 2018. ==NFL career statistics==