Who Should I Start? Sam LaPorta or Brock Bowers

Monday, September 15, 11:11 PM

Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta missed out on the fun in his team's 52-point performance against the Chicago Bears in Week 2. LaPorta was targeted four times by Lions quarterback Jared Goff out of 28 pass attempts and recorded three catches for 26 yards. Detroit has several formidable offensive weapons, so there's always a risk that LaPorta will fall behind wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams and running back Jahmyr Gibbs in the pecking order for touches. After averaging over seven targets per game as a rookie in 2023, LaPorta has now averaged 5.3 targets per game across his last 18 regular-season contests. He remains a fantasy TE1, but he may be overly reliant on touchdowns as long as Detroit's other pass-catchers remain healthy.

Wednesday, September 17, 7:25 PM

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers (knee) injured his knee in the season-opening win over the New England Patriots and was questionable to face the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night Football in Week 2. Bowers ended up playing, handling 77 percent of the offensive snaps while catching five of his eight targets for a disappointing 38 yards in a 20-9 loss. As long as the 22-year-old former first-rounder doesn't have a setback with his knee at practice later this week, he should be ready to roll for a nice Week 3 matchup against the Washington Commanders. Washington has allowed the fourth-most half-PPR points to opposing tight ends through two weeks, so Bowers could be primed for a big day this Sunday. He is already one of the top TEs in the NFL after posting a 112-1,194-5 line on 153 targets in 17 games in his rookie year in 2024.