Tight end is the thinnest position in fantasy football, which is why Sam LaPorta matters so much. The Detroit Lions’ number 87 has bounced back from the back injury that wrecked his 2025 season and is producing like an elite option again through five weeks of 2026. Here are his stats, his role in one of the league’s best offenses, and the case for ranking him inside the top five at his position.
Sam LaPorta Stats 2026
| Stat | 2026 (5 Games) | Per Game |
|---|---|---|
| Targets | 37 | 7.4 |
| Receptions | 27 | 5.4 |
| Receiving yards | 316 | 63.2 |
| Yards per reception | 11.7 | |
| Receiving touchdowns | 3 | 0.6 |
| PPR fantasy points | 76.6 | 15.3 |
The consistency stands out. LaPorta has caught at least five passes in four of his five games and has scored a touchdown in three of them. His best outing came in Week 5 at Arizona, where he caught all five of his targets for 88 yards, including a 38 yard touchdown, and led the team in receiving in a 45-21 win. A week earlier at Carolina he set season highs with eight catches on 13 targets for 84 yards and a score. His full week by week log is tracked on FantasyData’s LaPorta profile.
He has already matched the three touchdowns he scored across nine games last season, and the record chase is on: LaPorta’s 889 receiving yards as a rookie in 2023 remain the franchise record for a Lions tight end. He needs 573 more yards over the final 12 games to break his own mark, about 48 a game, comfortably below the 63.2 he is averaging now.
His Role in the Lions Offense
LaPorta is not the first option in Detroit; that job belongs to Amon-Ra St. Brown, with Jahmyr Gibbs and Jameson Williams also demanding touches. Even so, he ranks second on the team in both receptions and receiving yards, and his 7.4 targets per game are a clear jump from the 4.9 he averaged across the last two seasons. On the Lions depth chart there is no debate about who the starting tight end is.
The scheme helps. New offensive coordinator Drew Petzing arrived from Arizona, where he spent three years building the passing game around Trey McBride, and LaPorta is running 33.6 routes per game, third most among all tight ends behind only Brock Bowers and McBride. Add his blocking, which keeps him on the field in every personnel grouping, and a contract year to play for, since he is in the final season of his rookie deal, and the role is as secure as it gets. His health looks secure too: the herniated disc that ended his 2025 season in Week 10 has not limited him at all.
Career Stats: A Record Setting Start
| Season | Games | Receptions | Receiving Yards | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 17 | 86 | 889 | 10 |
| 2024 | 16 | 60 | 726 | 7 |
| 2025 | 9 | 40 | 489 | 3 |
| 2026 | 5 | 27 | 316 | 3 |
Career totals: 213 receptions for 2,420 yards and 23 touchdowns in 47 games. Drafted in the second round, 34th overall, out of Iowa in 2023, LaPorta set the Lions tight end yardage record and finished as the top scoring fantasy tight end in the league as a rookie. Injuries slowed the two seasons that followed, but the per play quality never dropped; he set career highs in catch rate and yards per target in 2025 even while playing hurt.
The Top-Five Fantasy Case
The rankings already reflect the bounce back. CBS Sports currently slots LaPorta fourth among tight ends, expert consensus has him fifth, and he is rostered in just about every league. That is a bargain against his draft cost: fantasy managers took him as the eighth tight end off the board in PPR drafts this summer, around pick 71 overall, and he has outperformed that price every single week.
The case rests on the things that do not disappear week to week: an every down role, the third most routes at the position, red zone trust from Jared Goff, and a top tier offense that just hung 45 points on Arizona. The tight ends clearly ahead of him are Bowers and McBride. After that, no one at the position combines LaPorta’s floor and ceiling, which is exactly what our Lions 2026 season preview projected when it flagged him as the offense’s X factor. Start him every week and do not think twice about it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are Sam LaPorta’s stats in 2026? Through five games: 27 receptions for 316 yards and three touchdowns on 37 targets, averaging 15.3 PPR fantasy points per game.
Is Sam LaPorta a top five fantasy tight end? Yes. CBS Sports ranks him fourth at the position and expert consensus has him fifth, and he finished as the number one fantasy tight end as a rookie in 2023.
What are Sam LaPorta’s career stats? 213 receptions for 2,420 yards and 23 touchdowns in 47 games, all with Detroit, including a franchise record 889 yards for a tight end in 2023.
When was Sam LaPorta drafted? The Lions took him in the second round, 34th overall, in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Iowa.