Juwan Johnson or Sam LaPorta: Who Should You Start?

The call

• Role is secure — 69% snap share as the No. 1 TE and no injury designation after the Week 2 illness cleared, so volume isn't in question.
• The 13% target share is modest for a position that lives on volume, and the 9.2-point projection lands him at TE16, just outside the 12-team starter line.
• Game script is fine: 23.0 implied total as a 3.5-point favorite means a normal, competitive script rather than a pass-heavy comeback or a run-out-the-clock blowout.
• The DvP composite ranks this defense 11 of 32 against tight ends, but it's a 2-game sample at 0.00 confidence — if the target share ticks up toward 18-20%, he's a clear start; as is, he's a coin flip against a similar TE2.

The call

• Role is as good as it gets at tight end: 90% snap share and 20% target share through 2 games, with no injury designation.
• The offense projects to score, with a 27.5 implied team total. The 11.2 PPR projection and TE8 consensus rank put him firmly in 12-team starter range.
• The matchup grades harsh at 2 of 32 vs TEs, but that composite comes from a 2-game sample with 0.00 confidence. It's noise, not a reason to bench.
• The main risk is game script. As a -9.5 favorite, Detroit could lean on the run late, which caps his ceiling but not his floor relative to replacement-level TEs.