Sam LaPorta

LaPorta is Detroit's TE1 and gets his production as a volume-plus-scoring tight end. Through five games of 2026 he has 37 targets, 27 catches, 316 yards and 3 touchdowns, which works out to about 7.4 targets, 5.4 catches and 63 yards per game at 11.7 yards per reception. The standout number is red-zone usage. His 9 red-zone targets, roughly 1.8 per game, are already more than half of his 17 from all of 2024 and more than double the 4 he drew across nine games in 2025.

Compared per game, this is his best stretch since his rookie year and arguably better. In 2023 he averaged about 7.1 targets, 52 yards and 14.1 PPR points over 17 games with 10 touchdowns. The next two seasons came in lower: about 5.2 targets and 10.9 points per game in 2024, then about 5.4 targets and 11.9 points per game across the nine games he played in 2025. His 2026 pace of about 15.3 PPR points per game tops all three seasons, and his yardage per game is the highest of his career. His efficiency is steady rather than inflated. He has caught 73% of his targets, in line with his 72% in 2023 and 2024.

For fantasy and DFS, the value comes from a TE1 role that is producing target volume and a red-zone share that tight ends rarely get. Clutch Edge projects him at 14.7 points per game, slightly below his current pace. That gap suggests some regression is expected, most likely in touchdowns and red-zone looks. The overall projection rank of #286 sits well below what that per-game figure would imply, so managers should weigh the per-game number when setting lineups.

A few things would change the read. If his targets slip back toward the five-per-game range of 2024 and 2025, or the red-zone looks fade toward his 2025 rate, his floor would drop back to the 11-point area. If the red-zone role holds, he profiles as a weekly starter at the position.

Written by a language model from the stat lines below. Numbers from Sleeper; the 2026 line is the season in progress.