Kelce
TE · KC vs LV
Proj pts
15.2pts
market
Johnson
TE · NO vs ATL
Proj pts
12.3pts
market
Juwan Johnson or Travis Kelce: who should I start in Week 4?
Start Travis Kelce. Bench Juwan Johnson. Travis Kelce leads at 15.2. Juwan Johnson is the first one out, 2.9 short.
Crowd: started Kelce 90% · Johnson 81%
Highlights
Pros
- Alpha TE usage20% target share
- Spike upside15.3 ceiling
Cons
- Tough matchupTough · D- vs TE
Pros
- High floor8.6 floor
Cons
- Below your start line2.9 pts short
- Tough matchupTough · D- vs TE
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 12.3); Target share (20% vs 18%); Implied team total (26.0 vs 25.8); Last 3 avg (16.4 vs 16.1); vs season (+1.9 vs +1.8); Targets / game (6.4 vs 6.0); Snap share (82% vs 75%); Red zone targets (13 vs 8); Touchdown dependence (15% vs 10%); Implied total (26.0 vs 25.8).
Why Juwan Johnson
Sit Juwan Johnson — projects 12.3, a tough matchup vs ATL, with a rising role.
Juwan Johnson projects 12.3 points on a 8.6–16.0 range. The matchup grades as tough against ATL. Usage: targets / game at 6.0. Net: Juwan Johnson is a bench this week.
Working for Johnson: High floor (8.6 floor).
Working against Johnson: Below your start line (2.9 pts short), Tough matchup (Tough · D- vs TE).
Where Johnson leads the head-to-head: Floor (8.6 vs 7.1); Ceiling (16.0 vs 15.3); Last 5 avg (13.8 vs 12.4); Consistency (56% vs 46%); Bust rate (12% vs 18%).
Recent form
Travis Kelce's last 5 games: PPR points 8.6, 4.2, 10.1, 25.1, 13.9 (oldest to newest).
Juwan Johnson's last 5 games: PPR points 13.5, 7.1, 14.4, 10.6, 23.3 (oldest to newest).
Kelce has already beaten Johnson's 12.3 projection in 2 of his 5; Johnson 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.
Juwan Johnson (NO) faces ATL, kickoff Mon 8:15 PM ET. The matchup is rated tough. Betting line: implied team total 25.8, spread -3.0.
What flips it
Kelce's edge is 2.9 points (15.2 to 12.3). Johnson's ceiling (16) clears Kelce's projection, so a big game from Johnson flips it. Kelce's floor (7.1) sits under Johnson'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.