Who Should I Start? Evan Engram or Sam LaPorta

Monday, November 18, 7:15 PM

Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Evan Engram hauled in five of his seven targets for only 28 receiving yards in the 52-6 loss to the Detroit Lions on the road on Sunday in Week 11. Outside of rookie receiver Brian Thomas Jr., who had five catches for a team-high 82 yards, nobody in Jacksonville's offense was able to produce much on a day where the team was held out of the end zone and quarterback Mac Jones threw for under 150 yards. The good news for the 30-year-old veteran tight end is that his seven targets and five receptions were both tied for the team lead with Thomas. He's also had three straight games with at least five catches, although it hasn't come with much yardage. Hopefully for Engram's sake, he'll be taking passes from quarterback Trevor Lawrence (shoulder) again after the Week 12 bye, which would vault him into firm TE1 range in fantasy.

Wednesday, November 20, 5:09 PM

Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (shoulder) was estimated as a full participant on Wednesday during the team's walkthrough practice. LaPorta suffered an AC joint sprain in the Week 10 win over the Houston Texans that caused him to miss last week's blowout win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The week off apparently did the second-year TE well, though, and head coach Dan Campbell is optimistic of LaPorta's chances of returning this Sunday to face the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. All signs are pointing to the 23-year-old's return this weekend, but fantasy managers should have a backup plan just in case. If he returns, LaPorta will be at worst a low-end TE1 for fantasy managers. He certainly hasn't lived up to his high draft stock after finishing as the TE1 in 2023 as a rookie, and he's currently averaging 7.5 half-PPR points, which ranks 16th among TEs in 2024.