If you have Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta on your roster, it’s likely you spent a pick anywhere from the third to fifth round on him, which makes his disappointing start to the 2024 season even more brutal.
After finishing as TE1 overall last season, LaPorta sat as TE15 overall going into the Lions’ bye. He has yet to find pay dirt after scoring double-digit touchdowns last season, and he hasn’t had more than 53 yards in a single game, which came Week 4 when the Lions had their best offensive showing of the season.
What’s behind LaPorta’s slow start? There appears to be multiple things at play here.
One thing that isn’t an issue is his role. It’s not like the Lions are keeping LaPorta in to block often, as his route participation percentage remains high, and it was at 86% in Week 4. The Lions tight end is running routes, quarterback Jared Goff just isn’t targeting him a ton.
There is a bit more competition for targets, though. Jameson Williams has quickly emerged as one of Goff’s favorite options in the passing game, with the third-year wideout ranking second on the team in targets with 25, 11 more than LaPorta.
When you factor in Amon-Ra St. Brown (38 targets) and Jahmyr Gibbs (13 targets), LaPorta is barely the No. 3 option. That’s a change from 2023, when the Lions tight end had a whopping 56 targets separating him and the No. 3 option, Josh Reynolds.
Another issue for LaPorta is the fact that the Lions’ passing attack had gotten off to a slow start over the first three games. There were certainly flashes, but it’s safe to say Goff wasn’t playing his best football, which led to an inconsistent showing for the offense overall.
Thankfully, it looks like Goff has gotten on track after a monster showing in Week 4, but that clearly didn’t help LaPorta much, as he had lackluster production yet again in the win over the Seattle Seahawks.
Is Sam LaPorta a must-start option?
All of this begs the question: is LaPorta still a must-start player going into Week 6? The answer to that question depends.
If you’re thinking about scooping some dart-throw option off the waiver wire and starting him over LaPorta, that’s a bad, bad idea. Options at the tight end position are always thin, so chances are you aren’t going to find someone else better than even the lackluster production LaPorta has put up, anyway.
However, if you managed to draft a second tight end who has proven to be more consistent and is outproducing the Lions tight end, then it’s not crazy to start that player over LaPorta.
But do so at your own peril. Anyone who has played fantasy football long enough knows what happens when you bench a usual must-start player: said player goes off and you hate yourself for the rest of the week — it’s basically science.
It’s not like LaPorta has forgotten how to play football all of a sudden. He’s still a very good player capable of putting up a monster game any given week. It’s just a matter of time before he goes off and rewards your patience.
