Schultz
TE · HOU vs DAL
Proj pts
14.1pts
market
Andrews
TE · BAL vs TEN
Proj pts
12.9pts
market
Dalton Schultz or Mark Andrews: who should I start in Week 4?
Start Dalton Schultz. Bench Mark Andrews. Dalton Schultz leads at 14.1. Mark Andrews is the first one out, 1.2 short.
Crowd: started Schultz 56% · Andrews 42%
Highlights
Pros
- Spike upside19.1 ceiling
Pros
- High-scoring spot27.5 team total
- Spike upside16.8 ceiling
Cons
- Rotational role62% of snaps
- Shaky floor3.7 floor
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 12.9); Floor (5.8 vs 3.7); Ceiling (19.1 vs 16.8); Target share (19% vs 17%); Last 3 avg (13.2 vs 8.4); Last 5 avg (11.1 vs 7.1); Consistency (48% vs 16%); Bust rate (24% vs 35%); Targets / game (6.2 vs 4.1); Snap share (71% vs 62%).
Why Mark Andrews
Sit Mark Andrews — projects 12.9, an even matchup vs TEN, with a rising role.
Mark Andrews projects 12.9 points on a 3.7–16.8 range. The matchup grades as neutral against TEN. Usage: targets / game at 4.1. Net: Mark Andrews is a bench this week.
Working for Andrews: High-scoring spot (27.5 team total), Spike upside (16.8 ceiling).
Working against Andrews: Rotational role (62% of snaps), Shaky floor (3.7 floor).
Where Andrews leads the head-to-head: Matchup grade (recency weighted) (B vs C-); Implied team total (27.5 vs 25.5); vs season (+1.5 vs +0.0); Red zone targets (15 vs 14); Touchdown dependence (23% vs 10%); Grade vs TE (recency weighted) (B vs C-); Implied total (27.5 vs 25.5).
Recent form
Dalton Schultz's last 5 games: PPR points 4.9, 11.3, 7.5, 26, 6 (oldest to newest).
Mark Andrews's last 5 games: PPR points 6.8, 3.4, 8.9, 10.9, 5.4 (oldest to newest).
Schultz has already beaten Andrews's 12.9 projection in 1 of his 5; Andrews has beaten Schultz's 14.1 in 0 of his 5.
At least 1 of these 5 were played before the 2026 season — the card does not date them.
Matchup
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.
Mark Andrews (BAL) faces TEN, kickoff Sun 1:00 PM ET. The matchup is rated neutral. Betting line: implied team total 27.5, spread -11.5.
What flips it
Schultz's edge is 1.2 points (14.1 to 12.9). Andrews's ceiling (16.8) clears Schultz's projection, so a big game from Andrews flips it. Schultz's floor (5.8) sits under Andrews'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.