Detroit Lions TE Sam LaPorta was the consensus TE1 entering 2024 fantasy football drafts. He looked like anything but that on Sunday Night Football against the Los Angeles Rams.
Is there anything fantasy managers should do in response to LaPorta’s dud?
Sam LaPorta Minimally Involved Against the Rams
The Sunday night game featured the highest total of the week, closing around 54 points. Fantasy managers were expecting a high-scoring, back-and-forth affair.
While it wasn’t a defensive slog, the offenses certainly disappointed.
Jared Goff’s two favorite targets, LaPorta and Amon-Ra St. Brown, combined for just 58 yards on seven receptions. Even with a lengthy overtime drive, they couldn’t add anything to their tally.
The question on fantasy managers’ minds is whether LaPorta was overvalued as a third- or fourth-round pick in drafts.
Everyone, just breathe. It’s been one week. Passing offenses struggled across the league.
The AVERAGE amount of passing yards on Sunday afternoon was 185.
YIKES! https://t.co/gtnCYJYqxw
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) September 9, 2024
On Sunday night, specifically, Goff only attempted 28 passes.
While it may seem like the Lions were especially run-heavy, they weren’t. They did run more than they threw, but only by three plays. They simply didn’t run a lot of plays, which resulted in fewer opportunities for the pass catchers.
As bad as LaPorta was, he still finished as the overall TE8 on the week (excluding the yet-to-be-played Monday night game). Of the “elite” tight ends, LaPorta was the best one! He outscored Trey McBride, Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, and Dalton Kincaid.
A whole host of stud pass catchers flopped this week, as well.
Among wide receivers who scored fewer than 5.0 fantasy points were Chris Olave, Drake London, Amari Cooper, and Marvin Harrison Jr.
LaPorta averaged 14.1 fantasy points per game as a rookie. It wasn’t a fluke. He’s one of the most talented tight ends in the league. In fantasy, we should continue to bet on talent.
This will likely go down as one of LaPorta’s worst outings of the season. For any player taken early in fantasy drafts, there’s no reason to hit the panic button after just one game.
Even if LaPorta goes out there and posts another dud against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next week, it would be too soon to worry.
The best course of action for LaPorta managers is to hold. There’s not much else to do. Trading LaPorta off a bad game will do you no favors, and you’re obviously not dropping him.
So, stay the course, and know that better days are ahead for not just LaPorta, but offenses across the NFL.