Henry
RB · BAL vs TEN
Proj pts
23.1pts
market
Jones
RB · MIN vs MIA
Proj pts
22.8pts
market
Aaron Jones or Derrick Henry: who should I start in Week 4?
Start Derrick Henry. Bench Aaron Jones. Derrick Henry leads at 23.1. Aaron Jones is the first one out, 0.2 short.
Crowd: started Henry 100% · Jones 73%
Highlights
Pros
- Goal-line back1.6 GL carries/g
- High-scoring spot27.5 team total
- High floor16.0 floor
Pros
- Run-funnel matchupRun-funnel vs RB
- Positive game scriptFavored
- Spike upside26.4 ceiling
Cons
- Committee back23% of touches
Some recent form, opportunity and matchup figures still lean on the 2025 season (not enough games played this season yet).
Week 4 · Updated Tue 6:00 AM ET
Why Derrick Henry
Start Derrick Henry — projects 23.1, an even matchup vs TEN, with a rising role.
Derrick Henry projects 23.1 points on a 16.0–30.9 range. The matchup grades as neutral against TEN. Usage: carries / game at 18.1. Net: Derrick Henry is start this week.
Working for Henry: Goal-line back (1.6 GL carries/g), High-scoring spot (27.5 team total), High floor (16.0 floor).
Where Henry leads the head-to-head: Projection (23.1 vs 22.8); Floor (16.0 vs 9.6); Ceiling (30.9 vs 26.4); Touch share (41% vs 23%); Opportunity score (13.3 vs 11.9); Implied team total (27.5 vs 24.5); Last 3 avg (25.0 vs 11.6); Last 5 avg (26.6 vs 12.3); vs season (+4.9 vs +1.7); Bust rate (12% vs 25%); Carries / game (18.1 vs 11.0); Touches / game (18.9 vs 13.3); Opportunity score (exp pts) (13.3 vs 11.9); Yards per carry (5.2 vs 4.2); Goal line carries (27 vs 3); Red zone carries (63 vs 14); Implied total (27.5 vs 24.5).
Why Aaron Jones
Sit Aaron Jones — projects 22.8, a run-funnel matchup vs MIA.
Aaron Jones projects 22.8 points on a 9.6–26.4 range. The matchup grades as run-funnel against MIA. Usage: carries / game at 11.0. Net: Aaron Jones is a bench this week.
Working for Jones: Run-funnel matchup (Run-funnel vs RB), Positive game script (Favored), Spike upside (26.4 ceiling).
Working against Jones: Committee back (23% of touches).
Where Jones leads the head-to-head: Matchup grade (recency weighted) (A- vs C+); Consistency (56% vs 41%); Boom rate (25% vs 12%); Target share (14% vs 5%); Grade vs RB (recency weighted) (A- vs C+).
Recent form
Derrick Henry's last 5 games: PPR points 45.6, 12.6, 35.3, 17.7, 21.9 (oldest to newest).
Aaron Jones's last 5 games: PPR points 11.3, 15.3, 10, 10.5, 14.2 (oldest to newest).
Henry has already beaten Jones's 22.8 projection in 2 of his 5; Jones has beaten Henry's 23.1 in 0 of his 5.
At least 1 of these 5 were played before the 2026 season — the card does not date them.
Matchup
Derrick Henry (BAL) faces TEN, kickoff Sun 1:00 PM ET. The matchup is rated neutral. Betting line: implied team total 27.5, spread -11.5.
Aaron Jones (MIN) faces MIA, kickoff Sun 4:05 PM ET. The matchup is rated run-funnel. Betting line: implied team total 24.5, spread -10.5.
What flips it
Henry's edge is 0.3 points (23.1 to 22.8). Jones's ceiling (26.4) clears Henry's projection, so a big game from Jones flips it. Henry's floor (16) sits under Jones's projection, so a quiet game from Henry flips it too. Confidence in the call: high.
How to read these numbers
- Confidence in the call
- How clear-cut this start/sit call is — how decisively the player beats the alternative he competes with (for a starter, the best player on your bench; for a bench player, the last one in your lineup), on both projected points and the overlap of their likely ranges. A clear play reads high; a genuine toss-up reads lower. It rates the decision, not the player’s own volatility, and is not a measured accuracy rate.
- Floor
- The 20th percentile of the same simulated distribution.
- Ceiling
- The 90th percentile of the same simulated distribution.
- Opportunity score
- Expected points from projected volume alone, before any efficiency of this player’s own: each projected touch and target valued at the positional average for the scoring format.
- Matchup grade
- The opponent’s points allowed to this position per game, weighted toward recent games, then graded on a curve across the 32 defenses.
- Implied team total
- The points the betting market expects this team to score, derived from the game total and the spread. Market-derived, not modelled by Nuvela.
- Trend
- The direction of his scoring across the trailing window, classified as heating, steady or cooling.
- Touch share trend
- The same classification, measured on his share of team touches rather than on his points.
- Consistency
- The share of his games that landed within a set band of his own per-game average.
- Boom rate
- The share of his games that finished inside the top 12 scorers at his position for that week.
- Bust rate
- The share of his games that came in under half of what he was projected for that week.
- Vacated touches
- Carries and targets belonging to team-mates who are ruled out, on IR, or listed as non-participants for this week, taken at their recent per-game rate.
- Defense funnel
- Whether the opponent’s rush defense and pass defense are far enough apart to push offenses one way. A gap inside the band reads Neutral.
- Game script projection
- The expected state of the game for his team — favoured, level or trailing — taken from the closing spread.
More start/sit comparisons from this week's PPR projections. Open a pair for the call and the reasoning.