Montgomery
RB · HOU vs DAL
Proj pts
17.1pts
market
Stevenson
RB · NE vs BUF
Proj pts
15.1pts
market
David Montgomery or Rhamondre Stevenson: who should I start in Week 4?
Start David Montgomery. Bench Rhamondre Stevenson. David Montgomery leads at 17.1. Rhamondre Stevenson is the first one out, 2.0 short.
Crowd: started Montgomery 72% · Stevenson 42%
Highlights
Pros
- Run-funnel matchupRun-funnel vs RB
- Spike upside24.3 ceiling
Cons
- Committee back22% of touches
- Shaky floor6.6 floor
Pros
- Run-funnel matchupRun-funnel vs RB
- Spike upside23.9 ceiling
Cons
- Below your start line2.0 pts short
- Committee back19% 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 David Montgomery
Start David Montgomery — projects 17.1, a run-funnel matchup vs DAL, with a rising role.
David Montgomery projects 17.1 points on a 6.6–24.3 range. The matchup grades as run-funnel against DAL. Usage: carries / game at 9.3. Net: David Montgomery is start this week.
Working for Montgomery: Run-funnel matchup (Run-funnel vs RB), Spike upside (24.3 ceiling).
Working against Montgomery: Committee back (22% of touches), Shaky floor (6.6 floor).
Where Montgomery leads the head-to-head: Projection (17.1 vs 15.1); Floor (6.6 vs 6.5); Ceiling (24.3 vs 23.9); Touch share (22% vs 19%); Matchup grade (recency weighted) (A- vs B+); Implied team total (25.5 vs 20.8); Last 3 avg (13.4 vs 8.3); Consistency (38% vs 24%); Bust rate (12% vs 43%); Goal line carries (16 vs 13); Red zone carries (34 vs 31); Grade vs RB (recency weighted) (A- vs B+); Implied total (25.5 vs 20.8).
Why Rhamondre Stevenson
Sit Rhamondre Stevenson — projects 15.1, a run-funnel matchup vs BUF, but the role is cooling.
Rhamondre Stevenson projects 15.1 points on a 6.5–23.9 range. The matchup grades as run-funnel against BUF. Usage: carries / game at 9.3. Net: Rhamondre Stevenson is a bench this week.
Working for Stevenson: Run-funnel matchup (Run-funnel vs RB), Spike upside (23.9 ceiling).
Working against Stevenson: Below your start line (2.0 pts short), Committee back (19% of touches).
Where Stevenson leads the head-to-head: Opportunity score (9.7 vs 8.4); Last 5 avg (17.5 vs 10.5); vs season (+4.0 vs +0.8); Boom rate (21% vs 12%); Touches / game (11.6 vs 10.7); Target share (10% vs 6%); Opportunity score (exp pts) (9.7 vs 8.4); Yards per carry (4.6 vs 4.5); Snap share (59% vs 37%).
Recent form
David Montgomery's last 5 games: PPR points 6, 6.5, 28.9, 4.4, 6.8 (oldest to newest).
Rhamondre Stevenson's last 5 games: PPR points 27.2, 35.3, 14.5, 3.6, 6.8 (oldest to newest).
Montgomery has already beaten Stevenson's 15.1 projection in 1 of his 5; Stevenson has beaten Montgomery's 17.1 in 2 of his 5.
At least 1 of these 5 were played before the 2026 season — the card does not date them.
Matchup
David Montgomery (HOU) faces DAL, kickoff Sun 1:00 PM ET. The matchup is rated run-funnel. Betting line: implied team total 25.5, spread -2.5.
Rhamondre Stevenson (NE) faces BUF, kickoff Sun 1:00 PM ET. The matchup is rated run-funnel. Betting line: implied team total 20.8, spread +7.0.
What flips it
Montgomery's edge is 2 points (17.1 to 15.1). Stevenson's ceiling (23.9) clears Montgomery's projection, so a big game from Stevenson flips it. Montgomery's floor (6.6) sits under Stevenson's projection, so a quiet game from Montgomery 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.
- 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.