Kelce
TE · KC vs LV
Proj pts
15.2pts
market
Schultz
TE · HOU vs DAL
Proj pts
14.1pts
market
Dalton Schultz or Travis Kelce: who should I start in Week 4?
Start Travis Kelce. Bench Dalton Schultz. Travis Kelce leads at 15.2. Dalton Schultz is the first one out, 1.1 short.
Crowd: started Kelce 90% · Schultz 56%
Highlights
Pros
- Alpha TE usage20% target share
- Spike upside15.3 ceiling
Cons
- Tough matchupTough · D- vs TE
Pros
- Spike upside19.1 ceiling
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 Travis Kelce
Start Travis Kelce — projects 15.2, a tough matchup vs LV, with a rising role.
Travis Kelce projects 15.2 points on a 7.1–15.3 range. The matchup grades as tough against LV. Usage: targets / game at 6.4. Net: Travis Kelce is start this week.
Working for Kelce: Alpha TE usage (20% target share), Spike upside (15.3 ceiling).
Working against Kelce: Tough matchup (Tough · D- vs TE).
Where Kelce leads the head-to-head: Projection (15.2 vs 14.1); Floor (7.1 vs 5.8); Target share (20% vs 19%); Implied team total (26.0 vs 25.5); Last 3 avg (16.4 vs 13.2); Last 5 avg (12.4 vs 11.1); vs season (+1.9 vs +0.0); Bust rate (18% vs 24%); Targets / game (6.4 vs 6.2); Snap share (82% vs 71%); Touchdown dependence (15% vs 10%); Implied total (26.0 vs 25.5).
Why Dalton Schultz
Sit 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 a bench this week.
Working for Schultz: Spike upside (19.1 ceiling).
Where Schultz leads the head-to-head: Ceiling (19.1 vs 15.3); Matchup grade (recency weighted) (C- vs D-); Consistency (48% vs 46%); Red zone targets (14 vs 13); Grade vs TE (recency weighted) (C- vs D-).
Recent form
Travis Kelce's last 5 games: PPR points 8.6, 4.2, 10.1, 25.1, 13.9 (oldest to newest).
Dalton Schultz's last 5 games: PPR points 4.9, 11.3, 7.5, 26, 6 (oldest to newest).
Kelce has already beaten Schultz's 14.1 projection in 1 of his 5; Schultz has beaten Kelce's 15.2 in 1 of his 5.
At least 1 of these 5 were played before the 2026 season — the card does not date them.
Matchup
Travis Kelce (KC) faces LV, kickoff Sun 4:25 PM ET. The matchup is rated tough. Betting line: implied team total 26.0, spread -4.5.
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.
What flips it
Kelce's edge is 1.1 points (15.2 to 14.1). Schultz's ceiling (19.1) clears Kelce's projection, so a big game from Schultz flips it. Kelce's floor (7.1) sits under Schultz's projection, so a quiet game from Kelce 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.