Who Should I Start? Sam LaPorta or Ja'Tavion Sanders
Week 1 Projections
| Fant. Pts. |
Rush. Yds. |
Rush TD |
Rec. | Rec. Yds. |
Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Sam LaPorta News
Wednesday, May 6, 7:17 AM
Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (back) is working on returning from an injury that sidelined him for the final eight games of the 2025 season. Because of the injury, he finished as the TE27 in PPR leagues, catching a modest 40 passes for 489 yards and just three touchdowns. LaPorta wasn't a major touchdown threat last year, but he was on pace to set a new career-high in receiving yards before the injury. Together, he and Amon-Ra St. Brown stepped up as highly dependable targets for quarterback Jared Goff. While this is a crowded offense, the Lions have shown that they can make it work. Goff is capable of supporting big years from all of LaPorta, St. Brown, Jameson Williams, and Jahmyr Gibbs. As a result, as long as he's healthy in 2026, we expect a big bounce-back year from LaPorta. He's the TE6 in RotoBaller's latest dynasty fantasy football rankings, and dynasty managers can get him at a discount because he's coming off an injury.
Week 1 Projections
| Fant. Pts. |
Rush. Yds. |
Rush TD |
Rec. | Rec. Yds. |
Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Ja'Tavion Sanders News
Wednesday, May 27, 6:48 PM
Carolina Panthers tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders (leg) looks freshly healthy during OTA practices this week and was cutting laterally like he did before suffering a season-ending leg injury in 2025, according to Alex Zietlow of The Charlotte Observer. Sanders played in 13 games (five starts) last year in his second season in the NFL before suffering a broken right fibula in December that required surgery. The 23-year-old former fourth-rounder (101st overall) in 2024 out of the University of Texas caught 29 of his 34 targets for 190 yards and one touchdown before his injury. He's batting Tommy Tremble for the title of top pass-catching TE in Carolina, but Sanders has more fantasy upside long-term if he can stay on the field. Tremble is the better blocker of the two, and Sanders caught 33 passes for 342 yards and a score in 16 games (eight starts) in his first year in the league for the Panthers. Until we see more from Sanders in Year 3, he'll merely be a TE streaming option when bye weeks hit in 2026. RotoBaller currently has Sanders ranked as the No. 39 TE going into the upcoming campaign.
Sam LaPorta vs. Ja'Tavion Sanders
Still trying to decide between LaPorta and Sanders? Check on the latest news to make sure both players are active and healthy. Our PPR projections show that Sam LaPorta is projected to score 0.0 points this week while Ja'Tavion Sanders is projected to score 0.0 points.
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