Analyze Sam Laporta's matchup for week 11
Sam LaPorta is officially OUT for Week 11 after sustaining an AC-joint sprain, forcing fantasy managers to the waiver wire just as he was regaining TE1 form.
Jacksonville enters Week 11 dead-last in DVOA vs. tight ends, funneling 24% of opponent red-zone passes to the position and yielding five TE touchdowns in their last four games. The Jaguars’ Cover-3 heavy scheme leaves the seams open, and their linebackers have allowed the fifth-most yards per reception (12.4) to TEs this season. Even on a snap count LaPorta would have been a top-five play; the matchup screams production for any Detroit tight end who sees volume.
After a sluggish first half (3.6 targets, 9.2 half-PPR PPG), LaPorta had reeled off four straight usable weeks, averaging 7-70-0.5 and finishing as the TE3 in that span before the shoulder injury.
LaPorta’s second-year breakout was finally materializing: his target share jumped from 14% through Week 6 to 23% the last four games, he reclaimed the every-down role (90% route rate), and Detroit doubled his inline snaps to exploit middle-of-field matchups. The Jaguars’ LB corps has been ravaged by injuries—both starters are questionable with hamstring issues—so the tight-end friendly scheme would have collided perfectly with a surging talent. Instead, fantasy managers must pivot to Brock Wright, who ran a route on 68% of Jared Goff’s drop-backs last week and becomes a low-end TE1 streamer against a defense that has allowed 14.8 Yahoo points per game to the position since Week 8. Monitor practice reports next week: the Lions are calling LaPorta day-to-day, and a Week 12 return against a Packers defense that just allowed two TE touchdowns to the Bears would restore him to the every-week starter tier.