Two players, one answer.
Jalen Royals vs Pierre Strong Jr.
Any league · this week start/sit · PPR
Stats through week 8 of 2026 (in progress)
This week
No call this week: one of them has no game or a projection under 4 points
Rest of season
Pierre Strong Jr. by 60% (Redraft PPR)Dynasty
About even (Dynasty Superflex)
Week 8 · PPR · 55% held up in 2025
A toss-up
On Sleeper's projections, Jalen Royals is projected 1.2 points ahead of Pierre Strong Jr.. In the 2025 season, a player projected that far ahead outscored the other 55% of the time. That's close to a coin flip: on these projections neither is the better start, and an injury report or a projection update before kickoff can tip it.
WR · KC
Jalen Royals
1.9 projected
@ DEN · Sun 4:25 PM ET
2.5 a game this season · last 3: 0, 4.4, 0
RB · GB
Pierre Strong Jr.
0.2 final · 0.7 projected
vs CAR · Thu 8:15 PM ET
5.6 a game this season · last 3: 4.8, 11.7, 0.2
- Pierre Strong Jr.'s game has already kicked off, so most platforms have locked him in or out for this week.
What the call rests on
- Jalen Royals: Sleeper's projection, last changed Sat, Oct 31, 11:20 PM ET
- Pierre Strong Jr.: Sleeper's projection, last changed Sat, Oct 31, 11:20 PM ET
- Sleeper's projections read Sat, Oct 31, 11:29 PM ET.
- Injury statuses read Sat, Oct 31, 11:29 PM ET, with the projections (hourly). A fresh projection time doesn't mean every status is: game-day inactives, about 90 minutes before kickoff, can come after it.
| Same projections, scored | Royals | Jr. |
|---|---|---|
| PPR | 1.9 | 0.7 |
| Half PPR | 1.5 | 0.7 |
| Standard | 1.1 | 0.6 |
What could change it before kickoff
- A projection update of 1.2 points or more in the other direction flips the call; Sleeper keeps adjusting its projections until kickoff, and this page reads them again at most an hour after it last did.
- Pierre Strong Jr. plays first (Thu 8:15 PM ET); once his game starts most platforms lock him in or out, before Jalen Royals's late news is known.
Open in Who should I start (your league, more players)
This week’s projections are Sleeper’s, scored with PPR settings. The percentage is how often a projected gap like this held up across the 2025 season; checked against 2026 games (not used to fit it), the stated chances so far run a few points high, so read a 60% call as nearer 55%.