Schultz
TE · HOU vs DAL
Proj pts
14.1pts
market
Johnson
TE · NO vs ATL
Proj pts
12.3pts
market
Dalton Schultz or Juwan Johnson: who should I start in Week 4?
Start Dalton Schultz. Bench Juwan Johnson. Dalton Schultz leads at 14.1. Juwan Johnson is the first one out, 1.8 short.
Crowd: started Schultz 56% · Johnson 81%
Highlights
Pros
- Spike upside19.1 ceiling
Pros
- High floor8.6 floor
Cons
- Below your start line1.8 pts short
- Tough matchupTough · D- vs TE
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 Dalton Schultz
Start Dalton Schultz — projects 14.1, an even matchup vs DAL, with a rising role.
Dalton Schultz projects 14.1 points on a 5.8–19.1 range. The matchup grades as neutral against DAL. Usage: targets / game at 6.2. Net: Dalton Schultz is start this week.
Working for Schultz: Spike upside (19.1 ceiling).
Where Schultz leads the head-to-head: Projection (14.1 vs 12.3); Ceiling (19.1 vs 16.0); Target share (19% vs 18%); Matchup grade (recency weighted) (C- vs D-); Targets / game (6.2 vs 6.0); Red zone targets (14 vs 8); Grade vs TE (recency weighted) (C- vs D-).
Why Juwan Johnson
Sit Juwan Johnson — projects 12.3, a tough matchup vs ATL, with a rising role.
Juwan Johnson projects 12.3 points on a 8.6–16.0 range. The matchup grades as tough against ATL. Usage: targets / game at 6.0. Net: Juwan Johnson is a bench this week.
Working for Johnson: High floor (8.6 floor).
Working against Johnson: Below your start line (1.8 pts short), Tough matchup (Tough · D- vs TE).
Where Johnson leads the head-to-head: Floor (8.6 vs 5.8); Implied team total (25.8 vs 25.5); Last 3 avg (16.1 vs 13.2); Last 5 avg (13.8 vs 11.1); vs season (+1.8 vs +0.0); Consistency (56% vs 48%); Bust rate (12% vs 24%); Snap share (75% vs 71%); Implied total (25.8 vs 25.5).
Recent form
Dalton Schultz's last 5 games: PPR points 4.9, 11.3, 7.5, 26, 6 (oldest to newest).
Juwan Johnson's last 5 games: PPR points 13.5, 7.1, 14.4, 10.6, 23.3 (oldest to newest).
Schultz has already beaten Johnson's 12.3 projection in 1 of his 5; Johnson has beaten Schultz's 14.1 in 2 of his 5.
At least 1 of these 5 were played before the 2026 season — the card does not date them.
Matchup
Dalton Schultz (HOU) faces DAL, kickoff Sun 1:00 PM ET. The matchup is rated neutral. Betting line: implied team total 25.5, spread -2.5.
Juwan Johnson (NO) faces ATL, kickoff Mon 8:15 PM ET. The matchup is rated tough. Betting line: implied team total 25.8, spread -3.0.
What flips it
Schultz's edge is 1.8 points (14.1 to 12.3). Johnson's ceiling (16) clears Schultz's projection, so a big game from Johnson flips it. Schultz's floor (5.8) sits under Johnson's projection, so a quiet game from Schultz flips it too. Confidence in the call: moderate.
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.