Alright, let’s talk about my journey with Sam LaPorta in fantasy this past season. It wasn’t some master plan, honestly. More like stumbling into something good.
So, draft day came. I was getting into the later rounds, looking at tight ends. You know how it is, feels like a wasteland after the top guys are gone. I’d seen a little bit of buzz about LaPorta, the rookie in Detroit. Sounded like he was getting decent reps in camp. But rookie tight ends? Usually takes ’em a year or two, right? I already had a guy I kinda trusted, but figured, what the heck, I’ll take a flyer on LaPorta with one of my last picks. Didn’t cost much draft capital at all.
My expectation was basically zero. Keep him on the bench, maybe he flashes once or twice, maybe I drop him in Week 3 for someone else. Standard procedure for a late-round rookie TE.
How Things Started Picking Up
Then Week 1 happened. He actually got targets. Like, a decent number. Didn’t blow the doors off, but it was more than I expected. I thought, “Okay, interesting.” Kept him on the bench for another week or two, just watching. But he kept getting looks from Goff. The Lions offense was moving the ball, and LaPorta seemed to be part of the actual game plan, not just an afterthought.
Around Week 3 or 4, my starting TE wasn’t doing much, and LaPorta had another solid, if not spectacular, game. I decided it was time. Moved him into my starting lineup. Felt a bit risky, banking on a rookie, but the usage was just too consistent to ignore compared to the replacement-level guys floating on the waiver wire.
Man, that move paid off. He wasn’t just getting checkdowns either. They were using him downfield sometimes, in the red zone. Touchdowns started coming. It wasn’t just luck; you could see the connection he had with Goff building.
Why He Worked Out So Well (From My Bench View)
- He just got open. Simple as that sometimes.
- Goff clearly started trusting him pretty quickly, especially over the middle.
- That Detroit offense was good, lots of scoring chances.
- He stayed healthy for the most part, which is huge at TE.
- Honestly, nobody saw that level of production coming, so defenses maybe weren’t keying on him initially like they would a veteran star.
There were maybe one or two quieter weeks, sure, made me nervous for a second. But overall, he was incredibly consistent for a tight end, especially a rookie. He quickly became someone I just locked into my lineup every week without much thought. Didn’t have to play the waiver wire roulette at TE, which was a massive relief.
He was a huge part of my team making a good run. Getting that kind of production, that reliability, from a guy I basically drafted as an afterthought? That felt like hitting a mini-jackpot. It was just awesome watching him exceed all expectations, week after week. Definitely one of my best picks of the year, even if it started with a bit of a shrug and a late-round dart throw.
