The Detroit Lions will face the Tennessee Titans in Week 8. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding TE Sam LaPorta.
Is Sam LaPorta Playing in Week 8?
LaPorta is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Lions’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Sam LaPorta in Week 8?
LaPorta has been a victim of the success of the Lions, a vastly different story than the one we were telling in August. We liked this offense to succeed, with the budding star being a key cog in it. However, instead, they are putting points on the board so quickly that LaPorta hasn’t been near the target vacuum we projected.
In Week 1, he saw five targets and we were underwhelmed — the man hasn’t seen five targets in a game since. His aDOT and route participation are in the same range as they were a year ago, but with Jared Goff processing at the speed of light and distributing the ball to the first player to get open, LaPorta’s on-field target share has cratered from 21.7% to 10.2% (three targets on 43 routes run over the past two weeks).
In the short term, this has a chance of changing due to the suspension of Jameson Williams. Goff’s average yards per attempt is tracking to be a career high by 10.7%, a number that is inflated by the catch-and-run ability of a player like JaMo. Goff’s average depth of throw this season is actually a tick under his career average, and that’s consistent with what we had projected, but the Williams involvement on those passes was something we undershot.
With Williams sidelined for the next two weeks, I suspect we see something close to the 2023 version of LaPorta in terms of volume. You’ve hung in there up to this point, it’s time to be rewarded for your loyalty!
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 8 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Sam LaPorta’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 8
LaPorta is projected to score 10.3 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 3.6 receptions for 43.7 yards and 0.4 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
Sam LaPorta’s Week 8 Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 11:45 PM ET on Saturday, January 25.
Conference Championship TE PPR Rankings
1) Travis Kelce | KC (vs. BUF)
2) Dallas Goedert | PHI (vs. WAS)
3) Dalton Kincaid | BUF (at KC)
4) Zach Ertz | WAS (at PHI)
5) Noah Gray | KC (vs. BUF)
6) Dawson Knox | BUF (at KC)
7) John Bates | WAS (at PHI)
8) Grant Calcaterra | PHI (vs. WAS)
9) Ben Sinnott | WAS (at PHI)
10) Quintin Morris | BUF (at KC)
11) Peyton Hendershot | KC (vs. BUF)
12) E.J. Jenkins | PHI (vs. WAS)
13) Anthony Firkser | NYJ ()
Tennessee Titans at Detroit Lions Insights
Tennessee Titans
Team: The Titans have only trailed at halftime in one of their six games this season. However, Tennessee is outscored 94-43 (-51) in the second half, which is the worst second-half point differential of any team this season.
QB: The decision-making has been an issue, but Will Levis’ completion percentage is 15 points higher this season than last when under pressure (55.6%).
Offense: Think things are working better with Mason Rudolph instead of Levis? The Titans are averaging -0.19 EPA per play with Levis on the field, which would rank 30th. With Rudolph on the field, the Titans are averaging -0.17 EPA per play, which would rank 28th.
Defense: The Titans are allowing a league-low 5.7 yards per play-action pass this season
Fantasy: Calvin Ridley has proven to be the definition of empty calories when it comes to targets over the past two weeks – three catches on 17 targets for 42 yards. Him being targeted on 28.3% of his routes over that stretch is great, but let him serve as a reminder that limitations under center can tank the value of any player, even if the role is strong.
Betting: The Titans have covered six of their past eight indoor games (average cover margin: +7.5 points).
Detroit Lions
Team: The Lions have a plus-62 point differential through six games played. It’s their second-best point differential through six games in the last 40 years (+
QB: Jared Goff has posted at least a 140 passer rating in three straight games. That’s tied for the longest streak in NFL history, along with Aaron Rodgers (2011), Kurt Warner (1999), and Roger Staubach (1971).
Jared Goff was under pressure on a season-high 51.7% of his dropbacks against the Vikings, finishing 10-of-11 for 164 yards and 2 touchdowns under pressure.
Goff is averaging a league-high 11.6 YPA under pressure this season; no other QB is over 9.0.
Powered by @awscloud pic.twitter.com/LQCg9V1adR
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) October 20, 2024
Offense: The Lions didn’t average more than 2.36 points per drive in any of their first three games this season. Since, however, they’ve been at 2.82 or better, averaging a difficult-to-comprehend 3.53 points per drive over that stretch.
Defense: In Weeks 3-6, the Lions blitzed on just 28.4% of opponent dropbacks, spiking to 38.9% last week in Minnesota without Aidan Hutchinson.
Fantasy: Sam LaPorta has three finishes as a top 12 tight end and three finishes outside of the top 20.
Betting: Since the start of the 2021 season, the Lions have had the best home ATS team in the league (20-8, 71.4%).
