KC — Week 8 at DEN, who allow the 27th-most points to WRs — recently Jaxon Smith-Njigba put up 13.4 on them (W6), Michael Wilson put up 6.6 on them (W7).
Jalen Royals projects 2.0 PPR points in week 8 at DEN — the 27th-ranked matchup for WRs, averaging 5 over his last three. Start him if that clears your other options at WR — run the exact head-to-head in Start/Sit below, or jump straight to a comparison.
The week 8 angle vs DEN: 236 passing yards a game allowed (6.26/attempt) · 1.1 TDs/gm through the air · 1 INTs/gm — all of it adding up to the 27th-most fantasy points allowed to WRs. Receipts and the full profile: how DEN defends WRs, linked under The matchup below.
What Vegas expects (week 8): 12% anytime-TD — de-vigged sportsbook consensus, shown for information; we take no bets.
Usage & TD luck (2026 · 6 games): 39.8% offensive snaps · 1.8 targets/game, 6.1% target share · 6.2% air-yard share (aDOT 5.8) · 0.8 catches for 6.8 yards/game, 1 TD. 2025 baseline (2 games): 19% offensive snaps, 1.5 targets/game, 5% target share, 4.9% air-yard share (aDOT 7.3), 1 catches for 2 yards/game, 0 TD. (2026) TD luck: 1 scored vs 1.1 expected — neutral. Usage moves before production — snaps and share shifts are the earliest real signal.
Compare Jalen Royals in Start/Sit Try in the Trade Analyzer
| Wk | Opp | Std | ½ PPR | PPR | Matchup | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W8 | @ DEN | Sun, Nov 1 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 27th · tough |
| W9 | vs NYJ | Sun, Nov 8 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 18th |
| W10 | @ ATL | Sun, Nov 15 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 16th |
| W11 | vs ARI | Sun, Nov 22 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 5th · soft |
| W12 | @ BUF | Thu, Nov 26 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 1st · soft |
| W13 | @ LAR | Thu, Dec 3 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 23rd |
| Wk | Opp | Std | ½ PPR | PPR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W6 | LAC | 2/4 rec, 24 yd | 2.4 | 3.4 | 4.4 |
| W3 | MIA | 1/1 rec, 11 yd | 1.1 | 1.6 | 2.1 |
| W2 | IND | 2/2 rec, 6 yd, 1 TD | 6.6 | 7.6 | 8.6 |