Fantasy Football Week 2 Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: Sam LaPorta vs. Travis Kelce

Headed into Week 2, there are several TEs with interesting outlooks on what they can accomplish in fantasy football. Two of these TEs are Detroit Lions TE Sam LaPorta and Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce. With that, here is a breakdown of which player fantasy managers should be plugging into their lineups for this week of games.

Sam LaPorta

LaPorta will have an early start this week in fantasy football, as he will be playing on Thursday against the Buffalo Bills. His opponent for Week 2 will be a much tougher matchup than the one he had in Week 1: the New Orleans Saints. LaPorta against the Saints logged five receptions for 48 yards on eight targets.

The Saints in 2025 allowed the 18th fewest PPR fantasy points to TEs; the Bills allowed the fewest. The level of defense Buffalo had against TEs last season seemed to hold up fairly well in the small sample size of Week 1 against the Houston Texans. Their TE1, Dalton Schultz, had four receptions for 35 yards on eight targets.

The last time LaPorta and the Lions played the Bills was in the 2024 regular season. In a high-scoring shootout where the Bills won 48-42, LaPorta had seven receptions for 111 yards on 10 targets. The Bills in 2024 did have a far less lethal passing defense than they do now. In 2024, they allowed the 21st-fewest passing yards per game. In 2025, they allowed the second-fewest.

Travis Kelce

Veteran Chiefs TE Kelce was a lone bright spot in Kansas City’s passing game in Week 1 against the Denver Broncos. Overall, the Chiefs had 184 passing yards; Kelce accounted for 71 of those that he picked up on three receptions. He had the most receiving yards of any Chiefs pass catcher. This performance is encouraging for Kelce, given that the Broncos over the last couple of seasons have had one of the better secondaries in the NFL.

The Broncos in 2025 allowed the seventh-fewest passing yards per game. However, they were a decent matchup for TEs to go up against in fantasy. They allowed the 17th-fewest PPR fantasy points per game in 2025.

In Week 2, the Chiefs will take on the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts in Week 1 gave up 41 points to the Baltimore Ravens, and their TE1 Mark Andrews recorded four receptions for 49 yards on six targets. It is the most receiving yards he has had in a game since Week 3 of the 2025 season.

In 2025, Indianapolis allowed the 22nd fewest PPR fantasy points to TEs. The Chiefs also played against them last season, and Kelce had a decent game. He had four receptions for 43 yards on six targets.

Final Verdict

When it comes to who should start and who should sit in fantasy football in Week 2 between LaPorta and Kelce, LaPorta should sit, and Kelce should start.

LaPorta, even with him being in the upper tier of fantasy TEs for the last few seasons, has a matchup that is so unideal that it warrants sitting him. Kelce, with the stats he put forth in a difficult matchup in Week 1, is the safer play over LaPorta, with one of the better opponents a TE can have in fantasy waiting for him in Week 2.

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