Start Sam LaPorta or Kyle Pitts Sr.? Week 9
Updated Nov 4, 7:06 AM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 10 answer posts Tuesday.
Early kickoff: 9:30 AM ET in Madrid, set your lineup before then.
Start Kyle Pitts Sr. over Sam LaPorta
Pitts projects lower, 9.6 to 10.3, and still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player: ADP 84 for Pitts, 111 for LaPorta.
- Market projects
- 9.6
- fantasy pts
- CIN D vs TE
- 16.5
- 8th most to TEs (2026)
- Snap share
- 55%
- Through Week 8
- Target share
- 18%
- Through Week 8
- Market projects
- 10.3
- fantasy pts
- MIA D vs TE
- 19.2
- 3rd most to TEs (2026)
- Snap share
- 90%
- Through Week 8
- Target share
- 18%
- Through Week 8
Should I drop Kyle Pitts Sr. for Sam LaPorta?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Sam LaPorta projects 105 market-implied PPR points from Week 9 through Week 17 (11.7 a game over 9 games), Kyle Pitts Sr. 69 (8.6 a game over 8 games). For Week 9 the call starts Kyle Pitts Sr. over Sam LaPorta. So make the move after his Week 9 game.
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Our Week 9 call
Start Kyle Pitts Sr. over Sam LaPorta in Week 9.
Market-based projections have Kyle Pitts Sr. at 9.6 points and Sam LaPorta at 10.3, a gap of 0.7. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. Kyle Pitts Sr. still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player, ADP 84 against 111, and that outweighs a gap this size.
What the market projects
Player markets imply 10.3 fantasy points for Sam LaPorta, with 100 percent of the markets a TE needs posted.
The market-based projection for Sam LaPorta is 43 receiving yards, 3-4 receptions and 0.4 touchdowns (12, 9 and 13 market sources).
Player markets imply 9.6 fantasy points for Kyle Pitts Sr., with 100 percent of the markets a TE needs posted.
The market-based projection for Kyle Pitts Sr. is 42 receiving yards, 3-4 receptions and 0.3 touchdowns (13, 11 and 13 market sources).
That puts Sam LaPorta 0.8 points ahead of Kyle Pitts Sr. on the market projections.
Week 9 matchups
Sam LaPorta and DET visit MIA on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.
MIA allowed 19.2 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 7 games, the 3rd most in the league.
Tight ends caught passes for 69 yards and 0.9 touchdowns a game against MIA.
Kyle Pitts Sr. and ATL host CIN on Sunday at 9:30 AM ET.
CIN allowed 16.5 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 7 games, the 8th most in the league.
Tight ends caught passes for 89 yards and no touchdowns a game against CIN.
By points allowed to the position, Sam LaPorta has the softer matchup.
Injury status
Sam LaPorta is not on the injury report.
Kyle Pitts Sr. is not on the injury report.
Usage before Week 9
Through Week 8, Sam LaPorta played 90 percent of DET snaps, drew 18 percent of the targets, earned 14 percent of the air yards and had 12 percent of the red zone chances.
Sam LaPorta, Week 4 against CAR: 56 of 71 snaps, 13 targets and 8 catches for 84 yards, 1 touchdown.
Sam LaPorta, Week 5 against ARI: 59 of 66 snaps, 5 targets and 5 catches for 88 yards, 1 touchdown.
Sam LaPorta, Week 7 against GB: 66 of 68 snaps, 2 targets and 1 catch for 18 yards.
Sam LaPorta, Week 8 against MIN: 67 of 72 snaps, 1 carry for 2 yards, 5 targets and 3 catches for 33 yards.
Through Week 8, Kyle Pitts Sr. played 55 percent of ATL snaps, drew 18 percent of the targets, earned 6 percent of the air yards and had 14 percent of the red zone chances.
Kyle Pitts Sr., Week 7 against SF: 38 of 69 snaps, 5 targets and 5 catches for 22 yards, 1 touchdown.
Kyle Pitts Sr., Week 8 against TB: 29 of 53 snaps, 5 targets and 2 catches for 6 yards.
Their 2025 seasons
In 2025, Sam LaPorta played 9 games for DET 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 and 215 air yards.
He was on the field for 90 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.
In 2025, Kyle Pitts Sr. played 17 games for ATL and scored 210.8 PPR points, 12.4 a game, finishing TE2.
He caught 88 of 118 targets for 928 yards and 5 touchdowns, with 11 red zone targets and 528 air yards.
He was on the field for 87 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.
Kyle Pitts Sr., Week 18 of 2025 against NO: 9 targets and 6 catches for 58 yards, 11.8 PPR points.
Their other Week 9 calls
Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 9, the call and the result appear on the public record, wrong ones included.
Drop or keep
Should I drop Kyle Pitts Sr. for Sam LaPorta?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Sam LaPorta projects 105 market-implied PPR points from Week 9 through Week 17 (11.7 a game over 9 games), Kyle Pitts Sr. 69 (8.6 a game over 8 games). For Week 9 the call starts Kyle Pitts Sr. over Sam LaPorta. So make the move after his Week 9 game.
Should I drop Sam LaPorta for Kyle Pitts Sr.?
No. Keep Sam LaPorta: he projects 105 market-implied PPR points from Week 9 through Week 17 (11.7 a game over 9 games), Kyle Pitts Sr. 69 (8.6 a game over 8 games). For Week 9 the call starts Kyle Pitts Sr. over Sam LaPorta.
Week 9 on the board
- Is Sam LaPorta playing Week 9?
- Is Kyle Pitts Sr. playing Week 9?
- Lions depth chart
- Falcons depth chart
- Week 9 TE rankings
- Week 9 fantasy rankings
- Week 9 start or sit
- Week 9 waiver wire
- Week 9 trade value chart
- Trade deadline buy low, sell high
- Fantasy football rankings
- Start 'em sit 'em Week 9
- Waiver wire pickups
- Fantasy sleepers
- Rest of season rankings
- Week 9 kicker rankings
- Week 9 defense rankings