Instantly upon his arrival in 2023, Sam LaPorta became the best tight end on the Detroit Lions' roster. Then he had an excellent rookie season, with 86 receptions for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns as he set franchise single-season records for a tight end in all three categories. He also sett the single-season NFL record for receptions by a rookie tight end, which was surpassed by Brock Bowers the next year.
LaPorta also finished as the TE1 in fantasy football as a rookie, defying all kinds of history when it came to rookie tight ends as fantasy producers. Injuries began to creep in his second season, with an easily expected drop-off from his big debut as well, but he was still a top-10 fantasy tight end regardless of scoring format.
Before a Week 10 back injury sidelined him for the season last year, LaPorta was a top-10 fantasy tight end again and finished top-10 at the position in fantasy points per game at season's end.
After the elite start to his career, LaPorta has become a bankable asset at the thinnest position in fantasy. His absence last season proved how indispensible he is to the Lions' offense that has plenty of mouths to feed. The arrival of Drew Petzing as offensive coordinator will only maintain his level of importance.
Sam LaPorta's fantasy stock is becoming a mixed bag of uncertainty
With Petzing's clear prioritization of tight ends in mind, Patrick McGrath of Rotoballer considers LaPorta a buy in dynasty with last year's back injury possibly providing a buy-low window.
"LaPorta already has a TE1 season under his belt and is an obvious dynasty buy until his market recovers to its pre-injury form."
On the flipside, Yahoo! analyst Justin Boone has LaPorta on his list of sell candidates in dynasty formats.
'"LaPorta’s 2025 campaign was stifled by a midseason back injury that sent him to injured reserve. In his absence, receivers like Jameson Williams and Isaac TeSlaa took on larger roles in the offense — something that will be hard to put back in the box moving forward."
"That’s where my worry lies with LaPorta’s fantasy outlook. There’s no denying he’s a strong tight end and at 25 years old there’s plenty of career left for him to contribute in your lineup. However, I wonder what his ceiling will be while playing in an offense that features Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown, as well as the aforementioned rising star Williams and the emerging playmaker TeSlaa."
"It’s also worth noting that LaPorta’s finish as the highest scoring player at his position in 2023 was a bit fraudulent. It was the only time the No. 1 fantasy tight end averaged less than 12 fantasy points per game since 2016, with LaPorta coming in at 11.6."
"He hasn’t even come close to those numbers the last two years, averaging 9.0 fppg in 2024 and 10.5 fppg through the first 10 games of 2025 before getting hurt."
"So, if you’re content having a mid-level TE1 in your fantasy lineup, then feel free to keep rolling with LaPorta. But if you’re in search of a difference-maker at the position, you should be packaging him up with another asset and trying to acquire someone higher up my rankings."
There is certainly something to be said for having a mid-level TE1 locked into your fantasy lineup, and that is what LaPorta has been over the last two years. That said, beyond increased target competition from Jameson Williams and/or Isaac Teslaa, his back injury sounded quite severe and the potential for ongoing maintenance/management or potential issues shouldn't be forgotten.
The ultimate question for LaPorta's dynasty managers is this. If you did consider trading him right now, what could you get for him?
READ MORE: Lions seem ready to bank on recovering 2025 draft pick for major defensive role
A look at Keep/Trade/Cut's trade calculator gives us an idea.
With 0.5-point PPR and Superflex as the default format, LaPorta is given a value of 4,560 points. The list of "suggested players to even the trade" includes Travis Etienne (4,687 points), Tyler Shough (4,672 points), Jared Goff (4,640 points) and Zay Flowers (4.632 points), with pick 1.07 this year as the final of the top-five assets with value comparable to LaPorta.
Adding Tight End Premium scoring to the K/T/C trade calculator equation obviously boosts LaPorta's value, and increases the significance of dynasty assets to square up a hypothetical trade (Luther Burden, Carnell Tate, Bucky Irving, 2026 pick 1.05).
If Burden can be acquired in a trade involving LaPorta, that's a no-brainer for a LaPorta dynasty manager even if, as Boone suggested, you have to attach another asset. Otherwise, there's a lot of nuance in play and there obviously has to be a lot of regard for a given roster situation. Someone who has another TE1-type on a dynasty roster, or more than one other, can absolutely consider selling LaPorta to bolster another position.
In re-draft leagues, LaPorta's range of outcomes for 2026 (and perhaps beyond) suddenly feels wide. A second career finish as the TE1 could happen. Or, he could miss five games as injuries pop up. Or he could have an inconsistent weekly role in the Lions' offense, and be frustrating on his way to a top-10 finish again.