Hollins
WR · NE vs BUF
Proj pts
12.1pts
market
Wicks
WR · PHI vs LA
Proj pts
11.5pts
market
Dontayvion Wicks or Mack Hollins: who should I start in Week 4?
Start Mack Hollins. Bench Dontayvion Wicks. Mack Hollins leads at 12.1. Dontayvion Wicks is the first one out, 0.6 short.
Crowd: started Hollins 29% · Wicks 33%
Highlights
Cons
- Thin volume4.6 targets/g
- Tough matchupTough · D vs WR
Cons
- Low target share13% target share
- Thin volume3.5 targets/g
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 11.5); Floor (6.8 vs 3.4); Target share (16% vs 13%); Implied team total (20.8 vs 20.3); Last 5 avg (10.4 vs 8.7); vs season (+0.6 vs +0.3); Consistency (45% vs 0%); Boom rate (21% vs 8%); Bust rate (14% vs 25%); Targets / game (4.6 vs 3.5); Snap share (68% vs 47%); Red zone targets (6 vs 4); Implied total (20.8 vs 20.3).
Why Dontayvion Wicks
Sit Dontayvion Wicks — projects 11.5, an even matchup vs LA, with a rising role.
Dontayvion Wicks projects 11.5 points on a 3.4–15.2 range. The matchup grades as neutral against LA. Usage: targets / game at 3.5. Net: Dontayvion Wicks is a bench this week.
Working against Wicks: Low target share (13% target share), Thin volume (3.5 targets/g).
Where Wicks leads the head-to-head: Ceiling (15.2 vs 14.5); Matchup grade (recency weighted) (B vs D); Last 3 avg (11.0 vs 9.2); Grade vs WR (recency weighted) (B vs D).
Recent form
Mack Hollins's last 4 games: PPR points 13.9, 9.1, 3.8, 14.7 (oldest to newest).
Dontayvion Wicks's last 4 games: PPR points 1.7, 15.3, 12.4, 5.2 (oldest to newest).
Hollins has already beaten Wicks's 11.5 projection in 2 of his 4; Wicks has beaten Hollins's 12.1 in 2 of his 4.
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.
Dontayvion Wicks (PHI) faces LA, kickoff Sun 1:00 PM ET. The matchup is rated neutral. Betting line: implied team total 20.3, spread +3.0.
What flips it
Hollins's edge is 0.6 points (12.1 to 11.5). Wicks's ceiling (15.2) clears Hollins's projection, so a big game from Wicks flips it. Hollins's floor (6.8) sits under Wicks's projection, so a quiet game from Hollins 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.