Who Should I Start? Hunter Henry or Sam LaPorta

Thursday, August 14, 6:51 PM

New England Patriots tight end Hunter Henry (undisclosed) returned to training camp practice on Thursday, according to Mark Daniels of Mass Live. Henry missed some practice time earlier this week but is now back on the field. However, it doesn't mean that the 30-year-old veteran will suit up for the second presason tilt this Saturday against the Minnesota Vikings. He should be just fine for the Week 1 regular-season opener in early September as the team's top pass-catching tight end. In his fourth year in New England in 2024, Henry had career-highs in catches (66), targets (97) and receiving yards (674) in 16 starts, but he found the end zone just two times. The addition of receiver Stefon Diggs (knee) will inevitably take targets away from Henry, but on the bright side, the TE did show good chemistry with quarterback Drake Maye. Henry is a low-end TE2 target with some upside.

Tuesday, August 19, 1:18 PM

Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (undisclosed) returned to training camp practice on Tuesday, according to Colton Pouncy of The Athletic. LaPorta has been held out of practices recently with a minor undisclosed issue, but it was never considered serious. It's unclear if he'll make his debut this preseason in the finale on Saturday against the Houston Texans. The 24-year-old former second-rounder (34th overall) in 2023 out of Iowa put himself on the fantasy map right away in his rookie campaign with an 86-889-10 line in 17 games (14 starts). He took a slight step backwards in his sophomore season with a 60-726-7 line in 16 regular-season starts. LaPorta has plenty of competition in a still stacked Lions offense which will be run by new offensive coordinator John Morton. However, in one of the top offenses in the league, LaPorta should be considered a top-five fantasy TE.