Who Should I Start? George Kittle or Sam LaPorta

Tuesday, September 9, 1:15 PM

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the San Francisco 49ers are placing tight end George Kittle (hamstring) on the injured reserve. As a result, Kittle will miss at least the next four games. The star tight end suffered this injury during their Week 1 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. Before exiting the contest, Kittle caught all four of his targets for 25 yards and a touchdown. When he was sidelined, Kittle was replaced by Luke Farrell and Jake Tonges. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor his status, but it appears he will be sidelined for at least the next month. While he remains out, fantasy managers should expect Farrell to see most of the blocking work while Tonges takes on most of the receiving work. Tonges caught all three of his targets for 15 yards and appears to be in the lead role to take on most of Kittle's offensive production. He is worth targeting in deep 14+ team formats on the waiver wire.

Friday, September 12, 1:31 PM

Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta was one of the few Lions who delivered a decent fantasy performance in Week 1, hauling in six of his nine targets for 79 yards against the Green Bay Packers. LaPorta will now face the Chicago Bears in Week 2, a team he has scored three touchdowns against in four career games played. Chicago allowed just three catches and 15 yards to Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson in Week 1. LaPorta's Lions have health and productivity questions along their offensive line, but that could actually help LaPorta's outlook by forcing Jared Goff to target the short and intermediate areas of the field more often. LaPorta is a must-start fantasy tight end against Chicago in Week 2.