Should I start Malik Willis or Sam LaPorta in Week 9?

The market-based projections

Malik Willis's market-based projection is 18.4 PPR points a game, built from 5 markets across 10 market sources. That is the 8th highest figure of the 219 players with a market-based projection.

Sam LaPorta's market-based projection is 10.0 PPR points a game, built from 3 markets across 10 market sources. That is the 65th highest figure of the 219 players with a market-based projection.

Where the draft room stands

Live drafts hold no current pick on Malik Willis, and the board ranks him 70th overall on the rest of his evidence.

In 2QB drafts he goes at ADP 38.

Live drafts hold no current pick on Sam LaPorta, and the board ranks him 72nd overall on the rest of his evidence.

This season through Week 8

Through Week 8, Malik Willis has been on the field for 100 percent of MIA snaps, dropped back 225 times and thrown 9.4 air yards an attempt.

He has been sacked or hit on 32 of 225 dropbacks and scrambled 22 times.

In Week 5 against CIN he completed 15 of 26 passes for 137 yards, threw 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions and ran 8 times for 74 yards.

In Week 7 against NYJ he completed 14 of 21 passes for 208 yards, threw 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions and ran 6 times for 39 yards.

In Week 8 against NE he completed 21 of 32 passes for 211 yards, threw 2 touchdowns and 1 interception and ran 1 time for 2 yards.

Through Week 8, Sam LaPorta has been on the field for 90 percent of DET snaps, drawn 18 percent of the targets and had 12 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 8 of the offence's 60 third down targets, had 2 of its 22 chances inside the five and seen 4 of its 30 two minute targets.

His 44 targets have averaged 6.1 air yards.

In Week 5 against ARI he caught 5 of 5 targets for 88 yards and scored 1 touchdown.

In Week 7 against GB he caught 1 of 2 targets for 18 yards and did not score.

In Week 8 against MIN he carried 1 time for 2 yards, caught 3 of 5 targets for 33 yards and did not score.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025 Malik Willis played 4 games and scored 51.2 PPR points, 12.8 a game, finishing QB45.

He threw for 422 yards on 35 attempts with 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, and ran for 123 yards and 2 touchdowns.

That came to 8.8 attempts a game at 12.1 yards an attempt.

He was on the field for 10 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

In 2025 Sam LaPorta played 9 games and scored 106.9 PPR points, 11.9 a game, finishing TE27.

He caught 40 of 49 targets for 489 yards and 3 touchdowns, with 4 red zone targets.

That came to 5.4 targets a game, a 82 percent catch rate and 12.2 yards a catch.

He was on the field for 90 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

Sam LaPorta was available for 5 games more.

Side by side

In 2025 Malik Willis scored 12.8 PPR points a game and Sam LaPorta 11.9, 0.9 a game between them.

Malik Willis finished QB45 and Sam LaPorta TE27, which are two different ladders.

Malik Willis is a quarterback and Sam LaPorta a tight end, so the question is which slot you fill first rather than which of them is better.

Byes and availability

Both are off in Week 6, so a roster holding the pair has that one week to cover twice.

What would change the answer

8.3 points a game is the entire case. The market restates it every week, and a line that moves moves the order with it.

The draft market is the half that is missing: when live drafts hold these two again they can order them differently from the projection, and this page will follow the drafts rather than the market-based projection when they do.