Who Should I Start? Sam LaPorta or Harold Fannin Jr.

Sunday, January 19, 12:27 AM

Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta caught six of his seven targets for 51 yards and a touchdown during Saturday's Divisional Round loss to the Washington Commanders. His touchdown came at the end of an impressive offensive play in which Jared Goff scrambled, threw while being tackled, and connected with LaPorta, who used his left hand to haul in the football and secure the catch. It was a valiant effort to give the Lions their only receiving touchdown of the game, but it wasn't enough. Detroit fell to Washington by two scores, ending their season shy of a Super Bowl berth once again. With that said, this Lions team continues to show plenty of promise ahead of the 2025 campaign. LaPorta himself was riding a hot stretch when the season ended, catching 38 passes for 392 yards and five touchdowns over his last seven contests. He should continue to rank as a mid-range TE1 ahead of next summer's fantasy drafts.

Friday, May 16, 12:07 PM

The Cleveland Browns and rookie third-round tight end Harold Fannin Jr. agreed to term on a four-year, $6.7 million contract on Friday, a source tells FOX Sports' Jordan Schultz. Fannin set FB single-season records for catches (117) and receiving yards (1,555) by a tight end at Bowling Green in 2024 and will now join a Browns tight end room that includes David Njoku and Blake Whiteheart, among others. The 20-year-old was selected with the 67th overall pick in the third round. Although his production in college speaks for itself, he's undersized at the position at 6-foot-3 and 241 pounds and also isn't fast enough to have a ton of long-term fantasy upside. The Browns will try to develop Fannin's pass-catching skills so that he can eventually overtake Njoku as their starting TE, but that's unlikely to happen in 2025, if ever.