Sam LaPorta

After finishing TE1 in fantasy scoring as a rookie in 2023, Sam LaPorta has been less productive the last two seasons, although he hasn't been *that* much less productive on a per-game basis, and injuries may partly explain the dip. LaPorta played through a sprained ankle early in the 2024 season and missed one game that November with a sprained AC joint in his shoulder. In 2025, he herniated a disc in his back in Week 10 and missed Detroit's last eight games. After scoring 10 touchdowns as a rookie, LaPorta had seven TDs in 2024 and three in 2025. But LaPorta hit career highs in catch rate (81.6%), yards per target (10.0) and yards per route run (2.00) last season, suggesting there has been no drop-off in his quality of play. But after averaging 7.1 targets per game as a rookie, LaPorta has averaged only 4.9 targets in his 27 regular-season games the last two years. Perhaps he'll see a target uptick under new Lions offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, who was calling the plays in Arizona the last three years while Cardinals TE Trey McBride blossomed into a superstar.

Before his 2025 season was lost to a back injury, Sam LaPorta was the TE7 in fantasy points per game. Despite the injury-shortened season, LaPorta was still one of the most explosive tight ends in the NFL on a per-route basis. Among 59 qualifying tight ends, he ranked tenth in target share (17.8%), sixth in receiving yards per game (54.3), fifth in yards per route run (2.14), and eighth in first downs per route run (0.100, per Fantasy Points Data). The concerning thing for LaPorta during those nine games was his six red zone targets and only one end zone target. Considering that light usage near paydirt, it's not shocking that he had only three touchdowns. That is worrisome, but touchdowns can be a fickle game to project year-to-year. Painting a positive light on that usage is the fact that despite those numbers, LaPorta was still second on the team in not only target share but red zone targets during that stretch. The arrival of Drew Petzing as the offensive coordinator should be viewed as a plus for LaPorta if we are to extract anything from his time in Arizona and his usage of Trey McBride. LaPorta should turn in a strong 2026 season as a top-eight fantasy tight end with top-five upside.