Sam LaPorta Fantasy Football Week 1: Stats and Projections vs. Saints

Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta will be up against the team with last season's fourth-ranked passing defense, the New Orleans Saints (179.2 yards allowed per game), in Week 1 -- kicking off at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.

Daily fantasy players, is LaPorta worth considering for his next matchup against the Saints? Scroll down, because we can help you make the right decision.

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Sam LaPorta Week 1 Fantasy Football Projection

• Matchup: Detroit Lions vs. New Orleans Saints
• Game Date: September 13, 2026
• Game Time: 1 p.m.
• Projected Fantasy Points: 7.5
• PPR Projected Fantasy Points: 9.6
• Projected Receiving Yards: 50.10
• Projected Receiving TDs: 0.41

Projections provided by numberFire

LaPorta 2025 Fantasy Performance

• With 66.9 fantasy points (7.4 per game) in 2025, LaPorta ranked 211th in the NFL and 25th at his position.
• In his best game last season, LaPorta picked up 15.7 fantasy points -- via six receptions, 97 yards and one touchdown. That was in Week 9 versus the Minnesota Vikings.
• In his second-best performance last year, LaPorta picked up 15.2 fantasy points -- via five receptions, 92 yards and one touchdown -- in Week 5 versus the Cincinnati Bengals.
• LaPorta accumulated 1.5 fantasy points -- three catches, 15 yards, on three targets -- in Week 7 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which was his poorest game of the year.
• In his second-worst game of the season, LaPorta ended up with 2.6 fantasy points -- three receptions, 26 yards, on four targets -- in Week 2 against the Chicago Bears.

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Saints Defensive Performance

• In last season's action, New Orleans did not allow a quarterback to record more than 300 passing yards in a game.
• The Saints allowed at least one passing TD to 12 opposing QBs last season.
• Through the air last season, New Orleans gave up two or more touchdown passes to nine opposing QBs.
• Last year, the Saints allowed only three players to throw for at least three TDs in a game.
• Against New Orleans last season, no player racked up more than 100 receiving yards in a game.
• The Saints allowed 22 players to catch a TD pass against them last season.
• Against New Orleans last year, three players caught more than one touchdown pass in a game.
• Looking at run defense, the Saints yielded more than 100 yards on the ground to four players last season.
• In terms of run defense, New Orleans gave up at least one rushing touchdown to 11 players last season.
• The Saints gave up at least two rushing TDs on the ground to just one player last season.

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