Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (abdomen) is inactive for today’s game vs. the Panthers. He didn't practice all week and was listed as doubtful, so he wasn’t particularly close to playing. We’ll see if he can make it back for Week 6. St. Brown’s absence leaves 26.7% of Detroit’s targets up for grabs. Josh Reynolds is the best bet to lead Lions WRs in targets today, with Kalif Raymond, Jameson Williams, and Marvin Jones behind him. TE Sam LaPorta should also benefit from St. Brown’s absence. But we’re expecting a run-heavy attack from the Lions today against a leaky Panthers run defense.
Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (abdomen) is listed as doubtful for Sunday's game vs. the Panthers. He didn't practice all week and obviously needs to be on fantasy benches. His absence would leave Detroit's WR corps to Josh Reynolds, Jameson Williams, Kalif Raymond, and Marvin Jones. Reynolds (groin) and Williams (not injury related) are listed as questionable for Week 5 but should play after getting in full practices on Friday. St. Brown's absence figures to mean an even more run-heavy game plan for Detroit -- and potentially a target boost for TE Sam LaPorta.
Lions TE Sam LaPorta went off for eight catches on 11 targets for 84 yards and a score in Sunday's win over the Falcons. A big chunk of that production came on a blown coverage that resulted in an easy 45-yard score. But LaPorta's 11 targets were second on the team behind only WR Amon-Ra St. Brown's 12 and were a huge 33.3% of the team total. LaPorta now has 22 targets through three games. And his 18 catches are the most ever by a rookie TE through his first three games. LaPorta is an easy weekly starter and has a chance to finish the season as a top-six fantasy TE.
Lions TE Sam LaPorta caught five balls for the second straight game. After posting a 5-39-0 line in the opener, he went for 5-63-0 in the Week 2 loss to the Seahawks. The rookie has now totaled 11 targets for a 15.7% share through two games. That's enough to produce as at least a low-end TE1. Expect LaPorta to be ranked as such in Week 3, when LaPorta gets a plus matchup at home for Atlanta.
Lions TE Sam LaPorta didn't post a huge fantasy score in his debut in Kansas City on Thursday night, but it was an encouraging outing for his rest-of-season value. LaPorta ranked fourth on the Lions with five targets, a decent 14.3% share. And he caught all five of them for 39 yards. Per Pro Football Focus' Nathan Jahnke, LaPorta's five receptions were the most from a rookie TE in Week 1 since T.J. Hockenson's six back in 2019. With plus matchups vs. the Seahawks and Falcons the next two weeks, expect to find LaPorta inside the top 15 TEs in our weekly rankings.
Lions TE Sam LaPorta left practice Monday with a "minor" ankle injury, according to Justin Rogers of the Detroit News. LaPorta is reportedly expected to "test" that ankle at Wednesday morning's practice. We'll see how that test goes, but the quick return leaves us not overly worried about the situation. The rookie isn't moving in our TE rankings.
Lions TE Sam LaPorta has already emerged as a "favorite target" of QB Jared Goff, The Athletic's Colton Pouncy writes. "I’m trying my best not to write about LaPorta every day, but it’s hard not to when he looks as dialed in as he has," Pouncy adds. "Not a day goes by when LaPorta doesn’t make a standout play. ... It feels like Goff targets No. 87 on just about every series, and LaPorta continues to be heavily involved with the first-team offense." It sounds like LaPorta has pretty much already locked up the starting job. He has a chance to be the rare rookie TE to make a real fantasy impact. We just moved him up the TE Rankings.
Tim Twentyman of the Lions’ official site writes that TE Sam LaPorta is “expected to play a big role right away.” It’s a reasonable statement given LaPorta’s TE competition: Brock Wright, James Mitchell, and Shane Zylstra. Per Twentyman, Detroit’s coaching staff came away from OTAs/minicamp “pleasantly surprised” with the rookie’s “instincts and feel for the game.” We’ll see if LaPorta can keep up the momentum come training camp. For now, he’s on a trajectory to enter the spot-start TE1 discussion. Factoring in his current ADP — TE19 — LaPorta made our list of best tight ends for fantasy football.
The Lions chose Iowa TE Sam LaPorta in Round 2 of the 2023 NFL Draft. That’s solid draft capital for an undersized TE. LaPorta measured 23rd percentile in height, 17th percentile in weight, and 16th percentile in arm length for the position at the Scouting Combine. But he makes up for that with top-shelf speed and athleticism for the position: 73rd percentile or higher in vertical, 40 time, 3-cone drill, broad jump, and short shuttle. LaPorta also moves like a WR on tape and dominated receiving work over the past three seasons in a poor Iowa offense. (Check out his full Dynasty Fantasy Football Value report.) Detroit entered the draft with poor TE depth, so LaPorta should factor into the offense early on. Jameson Williams’ suspension only helps boost LaPorta's early-season upside.
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