Sam LaPorta — 2026 Fantasy Outlook

More on LaPorta

Coming out of Iowa, LaPorta was an active receiving option over his final two college seasons, but he rarely found the end zone. His blocking needed work, but his route running was already at a high baseline. He showed a natural feel for getting open and competed hard after the catch. Across four college seasons, LaPorta caught 153 passes for 1,786 yards and five touchdowns, with his two most productive years producing 53 catches for 670 yards and three scores, then 58 catches for 657 yards and one touchdown. He topped 100 yards twice over his final 13 games (7/122 and 9/101) and showed impressive catch volume in 2022, recording five or more receptions in seven of his twelve starts.

Detroit handed LaPorta a significant role from day one as a rookie, and he delivered. Over 20 games, including the playoffs, he caught 107 of 147 targets for 1,065 yards and 11 touchdowns, with 10 of those scores coming at home. His yards per catch were higher on the road (11.0 versus 8.9 in Detroit). His three best games came in Week 3 (8/84/1), Week 13 (9/140/1), and Week 15 (5/36/3), and LaPorta finished as the top-scoring tight end in PPR formats with 239.30 points, despite seeing six or fewer targets in nine of sixteen regular-season games.

LaPorta got off to a slow start over the Lions' first six games in 2024 (14 catches for 224 yards and one touchdown on just 17 targets), with his availability further limited by ankle and shoulder issues in Weeks 3 and 6. Detroit more than doubled his target share over the following seven weeks (34 targets across six games), and he responded with 22 catches for 221 yards and four touchdowns. LaPorta rounded out the year with an uptick in play, catching 30 passes for 332 yards and three scores over his final five outings while averaging 16.23 fantasy points per game in PPR formats.

Last season, LaPorta brought the value price tag to the fantasy draft table, and he was on pace for 76 catches for 924 yards and six touchdowns. Unfortunately, a back injured ended his season after Week 9. His best PPR fantasy value came in four games (6/79, 5/92/1, 5/55/1, and 6/97/1). LaPorta caught 81.6% of his 49 targets but averaged only 5.4 looks per game. The Lions gave him more than six targets in two matchups (9 and 8).

Update 6/17/2026: LaPorta is making progress in his recovery from his herniated disc surgery last November, but he still isn’t a full go in mid-June. The Lions are hoping LaPorta will be on the field for full practices in training camp.