DET — Week 2 at BUF, who allow the 19th-most points to TEs — recently Dalton Schultz put up 3.5 on them (W1).
9.8 PPR points against NO on 5/8 rec, 48 yd — missed his 13.5 projection by 3.7. The week 2 outlook below reflects it — projections, values and form all rebuilt nightly.
Sam LaPorta projects 11.2 PPR points in week 2 at BUF — the 19th-ranked matchup for TEs, averaging 9.8 over his last three. Start him if that clears your other options at TE — run the exact head-to-head in Start/Sit below, or jump straight to a comparison.
The week 2 angle vs BUF: 274 passing yards a game allowed (7.21/attempt) · 2 TDs/gm through the air · 0 INTs/gm — all of it adding up to the 19th-most fantasy points allowed to TEs. Receipts and the full profile: how BUF defends TEs, linked under The matchup below.
Usage & TD luck (2026 · 2 games): 89.5% offensive snaps · 7.5 targets/game, 19.5% target share · 5.1% air-yard share (aDOT 2) · 5.5 catches for 50 yards/game, 1 TD. 2025 baseline (9 games): 90.7% offensive snaps, 5.4 targets/game, 18.5% target share, 17.5% air-yard share (aDOT 5.7), 4.4 catches for 54.3 yards/game, 3 TD. (2025) TD luck: 3 scored vs 1.3 expected — neutral. Usage moves before production — snaps and share shifts are the earliest real signal.
Week 2 range (half-PPR, when he plays): floor 3.5 · median 8.2 · ceiling 15.5 — 37% chance of 10+, 12% of 15+, 3% of 20+. Built from real week-to-week variance at his position and scoring level — not a bell curve, the actual shape.
Compare Sam LaPorta in Start/Sit Try in the Trade Analyzer
Headlines link to their publishers — reported elsewhere, collected here. Our rankings never move on a headline.
| Wk | Opp | Std | ½ PPR | PPR | Matchup | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W2 | @ BUF | Thu, Sep 17 | 6.8 | 9.0 | 11.2 | 19th |
| W3 | vs NYJ | Sun, Sep 27 | 7.8 | 10.1 | 12.3 | 23rd |
| W4 | @ CAR | Sun, Oct 4 | 7.1 | 9.3 | 11.6 | 11th |
| W5 | @ ARI | Sun, Oct 11 | 7.2 | 9.5 | 11.7 | 13th |
| W7 | vs GB | Sun, Oct 25 | 7.3 | 9.6 | 12.0 | 8th · soft |
| W8 | vs MIN | Sun, Nov 1 | 6.9 | 9.1 | 11.2 | 9th |
| Wk | Opp | Std | ½ PPR | PPR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W1 | NO | 5/8 rec, 48 yd | 4.8 | 7.3 | 9.8 |