Hollins
WR · NE vs BUF
Proj pts
12.1pts
market
Sutton
WR · DEN vs SF
Proj pts
11.9pts
market
Courtland Sutton or Mack Hollins: who should I start in Week 4?
Start Mack Hollins. Bench Courtland Sutton. Mack Hollins leads at 12.1. Courtland Sutton is the first one out, 0.2 short.
Crowd: started Hollins 29%
Highlights
Cons
- Thin volume4.6 targets/g
- Tough matchupTough · D vs WR
Pros
- Every-down role85% of snaps
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 Mack Hollins
Start Mack Hollins — projects 12.1, a tough matchup vs BUF.
Mack Hollins projects 12.1 points on a 6.8–14.5 range. The matchup grades as tough against BUF. Usage: targets / game at 4.6. Net: Mack Hollins is start this week.
Working against Hollins: Thin volume (4.6 targets/g), Tough matchup (Tough · D vs WR).
Where Hollins leads the head-to-head: Projection (12.1 vs 11.9); Last 3 avg (9.2 vs 5.4); Last 5 avg (10.4 vs 5.1); vs season (+0.6 vs -5.9); Boom rate (21% vs 18%); Bust rate (14% vs 24%).
Why Courtland Sutton
Sit Courtland Sutton — projects 11.9, an even matchup vs SF, but the role is cooling.
Courtland Sutton projects 11.9 points on a 7.0–19.4 range. The matchup grades as neutral against SF. Usage: targets / game at 7.3. Net: Courtland Sutton is a bench this week.
Working for Sutton: Every-down role (85% of snaps).
Where Sutton leads the head-to-head: Floor (7.0 vs 6.8); Ceiling (19.4 vs 14.5); Target share (21% vs 16%); Matchup grade (recency weighted) (B- vs D); Implied team total (22.3 vs 20.8); Targets / game (7.3 vs 4.6); Snap share (85% vs 68%); Red zone targets (21 vs 6); Grade vs WR (recency weighted) (B- vs D); Implied total (22.3 vs 20.8).
Recent form
Mack Hollins's last 4 games: PPR points 13.9, 9.1, 3.8, 14.7 (oldest to newest).
Courtland Sutton's last 5 games: PPR points 8, 1.5, 3.1, 5.5, 7.6 (oldest to newest).
Hollins has already beaten Sutton's 11.9 projection in 2 of his 4; Sutton has beaten Hollins's 12.1 in 0 of his 5.
At least 1 of these 5 were played before the 2026 season — the card does not date them.
Matchup
Mack Hollins (NE) faces BUF, kickoff Sun 1:00 PM ET. The matchup is rated tough. Betting line: implied team total 20.8, spread +7.0.
Courtland Sutton (DEN) faces SF, kickoff Sun 4:25 PM ET. The matchup is rated neutral. Betting line: implied team total 22.3, spread +3.0.
What flips it
Hollins's edge is 0.2 points (12.1 to 11.9). Sutton's ceiling (19.4) clears Hollins's projection, so a big game from Sutton flips it. Hollins's floor (6.8) sits under Sutton's projection, so a quiet game from Hollins flips it too. Confidence in the call: lower.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.