Kittle
TE · SF vs DEN
Proj pts
17.1pts
market
Warren
TE · IND vs WAS
Proj pts
16.2pts
market
George Kittle or Tyler Warren: who should I start in Week 4?
Start George Kittle. Bench Tyler Warren. George Kittle leads at 17.1. Tyler Warren is the first one out, 0.9 short.
Crowd: started Kittle 94% · Warren 87%
Highlights
Pros
- Alpha TE usage21% target share
- High floor12.9 floor
- Big-play upside36% boom weeks
Pros
- Alpha TE usage22% target share
- Favorable matchupFavorable · A- vs TE
- Spike upside20.1 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 George Kittle
Start George Kittle — projects 17.1, an even matchup vs DEN.
George Kittle projects 17.1 points on a 12.9–24.6 range. The matchup grades as neutral against DEN. Usage: targets / game at 6.3. Net: George Kittle is start this week.
Working for Kittle: Alpha TE usage (21% target share), High floor (12.9 floor), Big-play upside (36% boom weeks).
Where Kittle leads the head-to-head: Projection (17.1 vs 16.2); Floor (12.9 vs 7.8); Ceiling (24.6 vs 20.1); Last 3 avg (15.8 vs 13.1); Last 5 avg (16.0 vs 11.5); Boom rate (36% vs 24%); Touchdown dependence (26% vs 12%).
Why Tyler Warren
Sit Tyler Warren — projects 16.2, a favorable matchup vs WAS, with a rising role.
Tyler Warren projects 16.2 points on a 7.8–20.1 range. The matchup grades as favorable against WAS. Usage: targets / game at 6.6. Net: Tyler Warren is a bench this week.
Working for Warren: Alpha TE usage (22% target share), Favorable matchup (Favorable · A- vs TE), Spike upside (20.1 ceiling).
Where Warren leads the head-to-head: Target share (22% vs 21%); Matchup grade (recency weighted) (A- vs B-); Implied team total (25.5 vs 25.3); vs season (+2.2 vs -1.6); Consistency (59% vs 46%); Bust rate (12% vs 18%); Targets / game (6.6 vs 6.3); Snap share (84% vs 81%); Red zone targets (23 vs 13); Grade vs TE (recency weighted) (A- vs B-); Implied total (25.5 vs 25.3).
Recent form
George Kittle's last 5 games: PPR points 24.5, 7.9, 3.2, 18, 26.2 (oldest to newest).
Tyler Warren's last 5 games: PPR points 9.3, 8.6, 10.3, 14.4, 14.7 (oldest to newest).
Kittle has already beaten Warren's 16.2 projection in 3 of his 5; Warren has beaten Kittle's 17.1 in 0 of his 5.
At least 1 of these 5 were played before the 2026 season — the card does not date them.
Matchup
George Kittle (SF) faces DEN, kickoff Sun 4:25 PM ET. The matchup is rated neutral. Betting line: implied team total 25.3, spread -3.0.
Tyler Warren (IND) faces WAS, kickoff Sun 9:30 AM ET. The matchup is rated favorable. Betting line: implied team total 25.5, spread -3.5.
What flips it
Kittle's edge is 0.9 points (17.1 to 16.2). Warren's ceiling (20.1) clears Kittle's projection, so a big game from Warren flips it. Kittle's floor (12.9) sits under Warren's projection, so a quiet game from Kittle flips it too. Confidence in the call: high.
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.