{"id":254945,"date":"2025-11-16T07:56:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-16T12:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=254945"},"modified":"2025-11-16T08:29:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-16T13:29:10","slug":"fantasy-football-3-tight-ends-that-can-replace-sam-laporta-in-your-lineu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/11\/16\/fantasy-football-3-tight-ends-that-can-replace-sam-laporta-in-your-lineu\/","title":{"rendered":"Fantasy Football: 3 Tight Ends That Can Replace Sam LaPorta In Your Lineup"},"content":{"rendered":"

Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta will miss at least the next four games with a back injury after landing on the injured reserve, and this move could spell disaster for a decent chunk of fantasy football teams. While LaPorta has yet to recapture the magic of his 10-touchdown rookie season, he was still one of the more reliable options at the position. Through nine games, the third-year veteran recorded 40 receptions for 489 yards and three touchdowns.<\/p>\n

Injuries are inevitable in fantasy football, and finding the right replacement for Sam LaPorta could be the difference between missing the championship and winning your league. From worst to best, let’s break down the top three players you should try to add.<\/p>\n

3 Tight Ends That Can Replace Sam LaPorta In Your Fantasy Football Lineup<\/h2>\n

Before we begin, a bit of a disclaimer: none of these players are capable of truly replacing Sam LaPorta in fantasy football. Tight end is the hardest spot to fill in any lineup, and there simply aren’t enough good options to go around. Let’s also note that, in order to be eligible for this list, the player needed to be available in at least 50% of Sleeper leagues. Depending on the size of your league, better options may be available.<\/p>\n

Main Photo: Junfu Han – Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

3. Brock Wright, Lions<\/h3>\n

At first glance, Brock Wright seems like the ideal choice to replace Sam LaPorta in your fantasy football lineup. After all, with the former second-round pick injured, Wright will be the top tight end in the offense and should see an increase in targets. While he will see some additional work, he probably shouldn’t be your first choice.<\/p>\n

Throwing backups into your starting lineup might work for running backs, but it rarely works for tight ends. Just ask anyone who believed Matt LaCosse could be an adequate flex play<\/a> when Rob Gronkowski retired in 2018. At the end of the day, you need to be good at catching the football, and Brock Wright has yet to prove he can do that.<\/p>\n

The tight end originally made his NFL debut in 2021 with the Detroit Lions and has yet to record more than 216 yards in a single season, and that happened all the way back in 2022. He doesn’t appear to be a victim of circumstance, either, as his 52.8 PFF grade<\/a> ranks 66th out of 75 eligible players. If you’re in a deep league and you’re truly desperate, Brock Wright will likely see 2-3 targets per game. However, there are better Sam LaPorta replacements for your fantasy football team.<\/p>\n

\"Williams
Oct 5, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14), tight end Brock Wright (89), tight end Sam Laporta (87) and wide receiver Jameson Williams (1) celebrate a touchdown during the first quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

2. Dawson Knox, Bills<\/h3>\n

This one is a bit of a blast from the past, but Dawson Knox might have a few more starting-caliber weeks left in his tank. Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid<\/a> suffered an injury of his own, as a hamstring will sideline him for Week 11’s clash against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With the former first-round pick out of the way, Knox should be in line for some targets.<\/p>\n

As mentioned above, simply being healthy doesn’t guarantee targets. However, Knox’s track record with quarterback Josh Allen should help to ensure he receives some work. The tight end recorded three receptions for 37 yards on four targets last week and should see 5-6 targets this week in what should be a high-scoring game against Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers.<\/p>\n

\"dawson
Main Photo: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

1. AJ Barner, Seahawks<\/h3>\n

AJ Barner is a young player who has flashed promise on one of the game’s top passing attacks. At this stage in the season, that’s good enough to make him the top replacement for Sam LaPorta in your fantasy football lineup. So far this season, the second-year pro has recorded 21 receptions for 236 yards and four touchdowns on 26 targets. These aren’t game-changing numbers by any stretch of the imagination, but there are reasons to be excited about what he could bring to your team.<\/p>\n

Consistency is the name of the game, and Barner has received at least three targets in all but three games this year, and he was playing through a calf injury in one of those contests. While he doesn’t have the same high ceiling as LaPorta, this target consistency sets a safe floor, and he’s playing in an offense with plenty of scoring opportunities. Sam Darnold is playing at a near-MVP level<\/a>, and Week 11’s showdown with the high-flying Los Angeles Rams should be a high-scoring affair. Barner has a decent shot of finding the endzone and could be a decent start in your tight end spot.<\/p>\n

\"AJ<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta is on the injured reserve, and fantasy football managers should target these three players in his absence<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2376,"featured_media":254946,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[59,3,24,32],"tags":[32531,33638,4624,349,9621],"class_list":["post-254945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fantasy","category-bills","category-lions","category-seahawks","tag-aj-barner","tag-brock-wright","tag-dawson-knox","tag-fantasy-football-rankings","tag-sam-laporta"],"modified_by":"David Latham, Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2376"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254945"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254945\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":254948,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254945\/revisions\/254948"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}