Luke Musgrave or Pat Freiermuth: Who Should You Start?

2026 Week 1 · deterministic head-to-head · Verdicts based on PPR scoring.

Musgrave's out — Freiermuth is the only lineup decision here

There's no decision to make on the Green Bay side: Musgrave is ruled out, so his snaps and target share are irrelevant this week. Freiermuth walks into a clean start as Pittsburgh's every-down seam and red-zone option, with a soft Atlanta matchup and a game script close enough to his own team's that Pittsburgh should be throwing plenty in the finish. The only question with Freiermuth is whether a middling target share caps his ceiling, but the role and matchup floor make him a comfortable claim/start regardless.

What flips it: Any in-game workload change for Freiermuth, such as an injury to a pass-catcher ahead of him, only raises his target share further.

AI editor

Luke Musgrave

Luke Musgrave

TEGBvs MIN

Projected Points

OUT — verdict voidSit· high
Pat Freiermuth

Pat Freiermuth

TE24PITvs ATL

Projected Points

Start

Why Luke Musgrave

Sit· high

TE2 in rotational role. Athletic seam-stretcher used in 12-personnel and play-action concepts.

Musgrave is listed OUT for this one — no lineup decision to make, and the 0.9-point projection reflects it.

  • Ruled out — irrelevant to any real lineup decision this week.

The call

  • Availability is the whole story: he's ruled out, so there's zero path to production regardless of matchup.
  • Even at full health the role was thin — 44% snap share and a 9% target share across 13 games is back-end TE2 usage.
  • The 0.9 projected PPR points confirm the model isn't pricing in any snaps; replace him with any active starting TE.
  • Monitor his status next week, but this week he can't be in a 12-team PPR lineup.

Why Pat Freiermuth

Start

Starting TE in dual-role usage. Reliable underneath/seam target with red-zone production.

Start — TE24 consensus, projects TE16 this week: 12% target share in 2025, 8.4 PPR projected vs ATL.

  • Full-time seam/underneath role with red-zone usage gives him TD equity Musgrave's rotational snaps never offered.
  • Facing Atlanta, a matchup soft enough to support a top-16 weekly projection at the position.

Head-to-head stats

MetricLuke MusgravePat Freiermuth
Projected points
Consensus rank—TE24
Opponent vs positionMINno ranking yetATLno ranking yet
Target share9%(2025)12%(2025)
Reception share10%(2025)13%(2025)
Implied total · spread23.0-1.522.8-3.0
Depth chartTE3TE1
Snap share44%(2025)53%(2025)
Injury designationO—

Signal breakdown

  • 0.9 vs 8.4 projected PPR pointsPat Freiermuth +
  • Consensus position rankeven
  • Matchup (DvP composite)even
  • Implied 23.0 vs 22.8 team pointsLuke Musgrave +
  • A ruled-out player cannot be a startPat Freiermuth +
  • 44% vs 53% snap sharePat Freiermuth +

Compare different players

Week 1174 players
Player A
vs
Player B

Every fantasy-relevant player this week — search or filter by position.

More Musgrave comparisons

More Freiermuth comparisons

This week’s toughest calls

Start/Sit Board•Weekly Rankings•Streamers•Sleepers & Busts•My Team•MLB NRFI Board•Free Tools•NFL Props•NFL Games

Want full matchup analysis & AI picks? →

Save your roster and get a Start, Sit, or Toss-Up call on every player, every week — plus prop pages, matchup data, and AI-powered NFL analysis.

Add to My Team — free

Or browse NFL player props or this week’s Start/Sit board.