This article is part of our Depth Chart Watch series.
Cardinals QB -- Drew Stanton led the Cards to exactly zero touchdowns in Week 12, going a sparkle-free 14-for-28 for 149 yards and a pick. Granted, it was in a road game against the Seahawks, so it doesn't mean that Arizona's about to turn to Logan Thomas, but the Cards will probably undertake a serious reassessment of their situation if they take a second consecutivesad-sack loss next week in Atlanta.
Cardinals WR -- Larry Fitzgerald's iron-man streak came to an end at 110 games Sunday in Seattle, as he sat out due to a sprained MCL. You'd figure that'd mean a lot of work for Michael Floyd, right? No. Floyd was shut out on just two targets by Richard Sherman and the Seahawks; the Brown boys carried the load (such as it was), with John Brown's three catches on five targets for 61 yards leading the way, while Jaron Brown caught three of six for 24 yards. Those85 yards of receiving represent all of Arizona's wideout production on Sunday.
Falcons RB -- Woo, 2.6 YPC on a team-leading 13 carries for Steven Jackson on Sunday. I'm never going to stop beating this drum.
Bills QB -- Kyle Orton is probable for Monday night's snow-rescheduled game against the Jets, but he could be one bad start away from being replaced by EJ Manuel.
Bills RB -- Fred Jackson (groin) is expected back Monday night, but will probably participate in a three-way committee with Anthony Dixon and Bryce Brown as the Bills try to protect him from being reinjured.
Bills WR -- After being targeted 16 times over the last two weeks and reeling in 12 of those for 131 yards and a touchdown, Chris Hogan's earned some attention. I'll be taking note of his role Monday night as he tries to pass Robert Woods for No. 2 duties behind Sammy Watkins.
Bears WR -- Brandon Marshall was probably limited less by his ankle than by the Bears' low-risk game plan on Sunday, as he was targeted only five times (one more than Alshon Jeffery), catching three for a meager 32-yard output. Jeffery (hamstring) managed just 22 yards on his own three catches, but found his way into the end zone to make his fantasy owners feel a little better about that.
Bengals RB -- Giovani Bernard returned from his hip and clavicle injuries in Week 12, but split time with Jeremy Hill, who readily outproduced him (87 yards on 18 carries vs. Bernard's 45 yards on 17). However, Bernard is an electric rusher who's highly useful in the passing game, so he's unlikely to find himself marginalized. In fact, Gio should return to owning the majority of the touches next week, but it's a situation well worth monitoring with how well Hill ran in his absence.
Bengals WR -- A.J. Green accounted for nearly half of Andy Dalton's throws on Sunday, catching 12 of 16 targets for 121 yards. Turf toe? What turf toe? Mohamed Sanu retained fantasy relevance by scoring a sweet touchdown to go with his five catches on seven targets for 48 yards, and no other Bengals wideout so much as caught a ball. So everything's normal here.
Browns QB -- Brian Hoyer followed up Week 11's 30 incomplete passes with 322 yards Sunday… but had no TDs, was intercepted three times and put the ball on the ground, though Cleveland recovered it. Just give up on him and go to Johnny Manziel already, guys. It'd be nice to see the Browns roll out a quarterback who can do something besides throwing it up to Josh Gordon.
Browns RB -- Ben Tate got himself cut after Week 11, leading to a fairly direct split of RB duties between Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell on Sunday. Both were good, but Crowell was better, tallying 88 yards and two touchdowns on just 12 carries. That guy drives me nuts -- his performances are so volatile, he can neither be dismissed nor started with any confidence at all.
Browns WR -- Josh Gordon returned in nearly Josh Gordon-like fashion Sunday, getting targeted 16 times and reeling in eight for 120 yards. He should get more efficient as he goes along, no thanks to Hoyer. Meanwhile, with Gordon occupying all the attention, Andrew Hawkins ran free (5-for-5, 93 yards) and Miles Austin even chipped in (6-for-8, 64 yards).
Cowboys WR -- I don't know what Tony Romo's issue with Terrance Williams is, but he seems to simply forget about his talented No. 2 receiver way too often. Williams was targeted only twice for the second straight week on Sunday, reeling in one catch for 18 yards. No, he hasn't been efficient lately, but he's still a big-play threat. Guy-you-forgot-was-on-the-team Cole Beasley also was targeted twice, and he made the most of it with a 45-yard touchdown, plus a 21-yard grab. Dez Bryant led the way, of course -- that goes without saying. But I said it anyway.
Broncos RB -- Yeah, it's C.J. Anderson time. The latest Denver back to take over the job, Anderson ripped off 27 carries for, oh, 167 yards and a touchdown against Miami on Sunday, and he reeled in all four of his pass targets for 28 bonus yards, too. That's three straight games of 100-plus yards from scrimmage for the bowling-ball-shaped back. Hey now, you're an all-star.
Broncos WR -- Emmanuel Sanders' concussion didn't hold him out in Week 12 -- he ended up seeing just as many pass targets as Demaryius Thomas and easily led the team in yardage with 125, though Thomas rolled up three receiving scores. Between the two of them, they accounted for 26 out of Peyton Manning's 35 pass attempts. For his part, Wes Welker caught all four of his pass targets for 18 yards, but did pick up a two-yard touchdown. Ande Caldwell went unsurprisingly unutilized.
Broncos TE -- Jacob Tamme was not quite as big a part of the Week 12 game plan as we thought he'd be, losing a yard on his only catch on his only target. The Broncos clearly geared their offense to revolve around throwing to the top two wide receivers in the absence of Julius Thomas, pretty much erasing the TE-dominant plays from Sunday's playbook.
Lions RB -- Reggie Bush(ankle) sat out again Sunday, leaving Joique Bell to once more make nothing (48 yards, if you don't count the two he lost on his only reception) out of something (19 carries). His longest rush was six yards. Theo Riddick touched the ball just five times (three catches on six targets and two carries), and still outgained Bell, picking up 52 yards. There were no compelling fantasy commodities for Detroit in this one, so that's as much as we can ask for. Bush could be back for the Thanksgiving game against the Bears.
Lions WR -- After nearly disappearing (two targets) last week, Golden Tate bounced back Sunday, getting 11 balls thrown his way to Calvin Johnson's 10, though both of them caught just four. Tate's four-pack went for 97 yards, while Megatron went for just 58. But this was an uncharacteristically brutal Matthew Stafford effort; things should get better.
Lions TE -- Joseph Fauria had a bad drop on what should have been a touchdown pass, so he ended up with zero production Sunday, while Eric Ebron caught only two out of seven targets for 23 yards. Those targets are noteworthy for Ebron, though -- if he keeps seeing action that regular, he could have a strong end to the season. Monitor.
Texans QB -- We shouldn't really be surprised to see Ryan Mallett struggle, so his touchdown-free 21-for-45 day Sunday isn't much of a shocker, but it's certainly a killer for those who own Houston receivers in fantasy. Owning Mallett's 189 pass yards and interception this week can't be too fun either, but it apparently can be partly chalked up to a pectoral injury, which could force him to miss time, which would force the Texans to turn back to Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Texans RB -- Arian Foster (groin) couldn't go again Sunday, but things weren't nearly as easy for Alfred Blue this time. Blue averaged just 2.9 yards on his 16 carries and managed only 20 receiving yards on three catches, turning fantasy owners' Sunday-morning excitement about getting to put him into their lineups into Sunday-afternoon regret about putting him into their lineups.
Colts RB -- Despite losing a fumble, Dan Herron was the most-used back Sunday, starting over Trent Richardson and carrying 12 times for 65 yards, plus five catches on five targets for another 31. That's a quality day, especially for PPR owners. Richardson split away 13 carries and a touchdown from him, though, despite averaging a miserable (and yet so T-Rich-like) 3.2 YPC. I like Herron a lot -- well, to be more accurate, I hate Richardson a lot, and I think the Colts do, too. Which means Herron is going to see serious work, especially on passing downs.
Colts TE -- With Dwayne Allen out and a solid matchup on tap, Coby Fleener was expected to excel Sundayagainst the Jags, but he caught only two of his four targets for 28 yards. Jack Doyle, the third-string tight end, stole three targets from Fleener, which he turned into eight yards.
Jaguars RB -- After a four-week run of sustained excellence, we finally got a dud out of Denard Robinson, who rushed 14 times for an awful 25 yards and lost a fumble, though he did contribute four catches for 47 yards to take a little of the edge off in PPR formats. Toby Gerhart managed to outgain him on just four carries (31 yards) thanks to a 23-yard scamper, but Gerhart remains a fantasy wasteland, while Robinson remains the back to own and start.
Jaguars WR -- Instead of Cecil Shorts' usage spiking in the absence of Allen Robinson (foot), the Jags distributed the ball very evenly in Week 12. Seven Jacksonville receivers, tight ends and running backs were targeted in the pass game -- none less than three times or more than five times. For his part, Shorts caught one of three for six yards, while Marqise Lee was the least useless of the crew, catching three of five for 52 to lead the team.
Jaguars TE -- Marcedes Lewis was back in the fold for the first time since Week 2 on Sunday, but he was targeted just thrice and lost five yards on the one he caught. He was off to a hot start before injuring his ankle, though, so better times could be ahead once he gets readjusted.
Chiefs TE -- Travis Kelce bounced back from his rough Week 11 to lead the Chiefs in receiving Sunday, catching four balls for 67 yards -- and again getting screwed by Anthony Fasano, who stole a touchdown from him. Kelce is right on a level with Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski-- when are the Chiefs going to give him the chance to put up their numbers? His targets remain far too meager (five Sunday) compared to his talent.
Dolphins RB -- Lamar Miller (shoulder/knee) dominated the rushing work for the Dolphins in Week 12, as usual when he's healthy enough to go, but Daniel Thomas snaked a touchdown from him despite carrying just thrice. Worth a small note: LaMichael James saw his first action with Miami, carrying twice for four yards and seeing an incomplete pass come his way.
Dolphins WR -- After going through a week of limited practices, Jarvis Landry (shoulder) came out and stunned pretty much everyone by getting targeted a dozen times against the Broncos on Sunday. While he managed a fairly modest seven catches for 50 yards on all that action, he also scored a pair of short touchdowns and now has four scores in the last four weeks. Mike Wallace had a quiet day saved with a touchdown, but was still out-targeted (six to five) by Brandon Gibson, who saw his heaviest use of the year and gained a season-high 42 yards.
Dolphins TE -- With Charles Clay (hamstring/knee) out for Week 12, Dion Sims led the way at tight end, catching four out of five for 31 yards. Exciting? No. Intriguing? No.
Vikings RB -- The Vikes added Ben Tate to their RB corps after Cleveland cut him, but he didn't see the field in Week 12 despite being active while Matt Asiata (concussion) was out. Instead, Joe Banyard had a role in the offense, carrying five times for 26 yards (not bad) and catching all three of his targets for 19 yards. Jerick McKinnon (back) turned in another quiet performance despite dominating the touches, gaining 63 total yards. Hey, it's five more than last week.
Vikings WR -- Charles Johnson ran away with the team lead in targets Sunday, with Teddy Bridgewater sending 11 balls his way, but caught just three of them. Still, that was good for 52 yards, a touchdown and the promise of some longer-term upside. Greg Jennings caught the other score for Minny, grabbing four of six for 38. And, well, at least Cordarrelle Patterson caught both balls they threw to him.
Vikings TE -- Kyle Rudolph (groin) assumed a more sizeable role in Week 12, catching three of five for 50 yards. Chase Ford and Rhett Ellison combined for five targets of their own, with four of those going to Ellison, who caught two for all of 11 yards. This should continue to transition into a situation wherein Rudolph gets 80 to 90 percent of the looks.
Patriots RB -- Wow, when Bill Belichick wants to screw up your fantasy football team, Bill Belichickscrews up your fantasy football team. Did you pick up Jonas Gray, hoping for goal-line work after last week's four-touchdown explosion? That's good. Oh, wait, he was late to practice Friday, so he didn't get to carry the ball a single time in Week 12. Belichick's sorry he's not sorry. Instead, the Pats signed up LeGarrette Blount after the Steelers cut him for leaving last week's game early, and Blount delivered 78 yards and two touchdowns on just a dozen carries, picking right up where he left off in New England before signing with Pittsburgh. Shane Vereen was mighty ineffective in the run game -- 12 yards on eight rushes -- but did his PPR owners good by catching eight passes for 48 yards.
Patriots WR -- Brandon LaFell left late Sunday with a shoulder issue, but is supposed to be alright. Before that, he drew a dozen targets, catching nine for 98 yards. Julian Edelman (thigh) picked up 15 looks of his own, and no other Pats receiver was targeted except for Danny Amendola, who didn't catch the only pass thrown his way.
Patriots TE -- Tim Wright worked his way back into the offense Sunday, setting season highs in snaps (61), targets (six) and touchdowns (two). He caught five of those targets for a total of 36 yards, and he now has six touchdowns in the last five games in which he's been targeted. But he's still second fiddle to Rob Gronkowski, whose owners have to be fuming after Gronk was targeted 10 times, catching five for 78, but no touchdowns.
Saints WR -- With Brandin Cooks (thumb) out for the year, we're looking for more work for Kenny Stills and Marques Colston-- but more Stills, who's a better fit for the sort of downfield throws that Cooks had been getting. Monday night will be interesting.
Giants RB -- Rashad Jennings and Andre Williams were both pretty inefficient Sunday, but Jennings' 2.7 YPC on 19 carries was worse. Nonetheless, Jennings still made himself 120 total yards thanks to his eight receptions. Williams totaled just 47 yards, but stole a touchdown, which probably mostly just served to sadden fantasy owners of both backs, as he was on most owners' benches Sunday.
Giants WR -- So, Odell Beckham made possibly the greatest catch in NFL history (don't even talk about David Tyree; just don't) on Sunday, and you should pretty much click that link and go watch it if you haven't seen it, or if you've seen it only 40 times so far, which is probably not enough times. The Giants basically ran their offense through ODB, and he caught 10 of 11 passes thrown his way with those vacuum-cleaner hands of his for 146 yards and two touchdowns. He suffered a back injury in the fourth quarter, but was able to return to the field; still, it's something to monitor in practice. Every other Giants wideout was worthless for fantasy purposes, but at least Rueben Randle caught all three of his targets, gaining 36 yards. Yay for that. Maybe someone will eventually explain to me why Preston Parker keeps seeing No. 3 receiver work over Corey Washington. Washington is the next big breakout receiver for the Giants, mark my words. It just may not happen this year.
Raiders RB -- Latavius Murray giveth, and Latavius Murray taketh away. Just a few days after making an effective case for increased playing time with his inspired Week 11 performance, Murray went out and ripped off 112 yards and two touchdowns on his first four carries Thursday, only to suffer a concussion that knocked him out of the game in the second quarter. That left Darren McFadden to take the ball a dozen times, and he did so about as unproductively as you'd expect (2.4 YPC), while Maurice Jones-Drew managed to lose a yard on his own three carries. By the end of this one, the Raiders were turning to Marcel Reece in the run game, and he at least turned in a competent eight carries for 37 yards. If Murray's concussion holds him out, I wouldn't be surprised to see Reece take on a major role in Week 13.
Eagles QB -- Good news: Mark Sanchez threw for over 300 yards for the third straight game Sunday. Bad news: He threw just one touchdown and was intercepted twice. Sanchez served the role of game manager in this one, but he did so decently effectively, completing nearly 70 percent of his passes. But Nick Foles (collarbone) has been throwing some passes on the side, generating some hope among Eagles fans that he could be back for the end of the season.
Eagles WR -- Jordan Matthews again outproduced Jeremy Maclin on Sunday, though they were both targeted eight times, catching six. It was fairly close, too, with Matthews gaining 77 yards to Maclin's 59.
Chargers RB -- Ryan Mathews grabbed a bigger share of the rushing work, as expected, in his second game back Sunday, but still only carried 12 times with the Chargers doing plenty of throwing. However, he made those dozen totes count, ripping off 105 yards and a touchdown, while Branden Oliver turned in another inefficient performance (six carries for 17 yards, four catches for 23). Mathews will continue gaining a stranglehold on the rushes, and as it turns out, he might even hold onto some later-down work with Oliver fading hard.
Chargers WR -- We're just going to have to be happy with what Keenan Allen gave us on Sunday. Ordinarily, we'd be very happy -- he caught six of nine targets for 104 yards (finally, his second 100-yard game of the season!) and a touchdown -- but he nearly erased the TD's fantasy impact by losing a pair of fumbles. It's to his credit that the Chargers stuck with him, but it's troubling that one of his few strong efforts had such major flaws. Eddie Royal went a perfect six-for-six, but gained only 50 yards, while Malcom Floyd caught exactly four passes (for 30 yards this time) for the fourth consecutive week.
49ers RB -- Both Frank Gore and Carlos Hyde struggled Sunday, as both averaged less than 3.0 YPC and lost a fumble, but even though Gore saw the bigger share of the rushing work, it was Hyde who punched in the fourth-quarter touchdown that put the Niners ahead. Neither was used in the pass game. This has turned out to be a surprisingly weak RB situation.
Seahawks RB -- Marshawn Lynch (back) was limited in both productivity (39 rushing yards, though he gathered 43 through the air) and snap count Sunday, as he sat out some early action, presumably due to the back acting up. With just 15 carries, he broke his streak of three consecutive games at 20-plus. Robert Turbin took away four carries and two pass targets, but Russell Wilson ran the ball 10 times, which probably had a bigger impact on Lynch's stats than those missed snaps.
Seahawks WR -- Why don't the Seahawks throw to Ricardo Lockette more? The guy's only been targeted 12 times all year, catching eight, but among them are touchdowns of 33 and 39 yards, and he picked up a 48-yard catch on his only target Sunday. Give him the damn ball. Lockette's lone catch was enough for him to lead the team in receiving against Arizona, with Jermaine Kearse (19 yards) and Doug Baldwin (six) both managing to be outproduced by all three of Seattle's tight ends.
Seahawks TE -- Indeed, the tight end trio of Tony Moeaki, Luke Willson and Cooper Helfet was pretty heavily utilized Sunday, accounting for about a third of Russell Wilson's 22 pass attempts. Moeaki tied Lynch for most-targeted player (four) and led the trio by catching all four for 34 yards, butHelfet scored the only receiving touchdown of the day for the Seahawks.Willson was targeted the least of the trio, catching a 21-yard pass on his only chance.
Rams QB -- Shaun Hill had an inglorious second week of starting duties Sunday, managing to turn the ball over three times (two picks and a fumble) against the generaly not-so-opportunistic Chargers while going 18-for-35 for 198 yards and a touchdown. Punter Johnny Hekker completed a 19-yard pass on a fake, giving him a QB rating more than twice as high as Hill's 54.2 on Sunday. The Rams won't jump ship back to Austin Davis right away; they'll give Hill a chance to turn things around next week against Oakland.
Rams WR -- This week, it was Stedman Bailey's turn to break out, as he easily led all Rams wideouts in targets with nine, catching seven of them for 89 yards and a touchdown. Kenny Britt followed his big Week 11 with a quiet 12, managing to reel in just two of six passes for 37 yards. Tavon Austin got just three looks in the pass game, turning them into only 11 yards, but also took three handoffs, converting them into 27 yards and his first touchdown of the season.You can't count on any of these guys, though Bailey's an intriguing speculative pickup.
Buccaneers QB -- While Josh McCownracked up 341 yards in Week 12, he did so while completing just 52 percent of his passes and coughing the ball up three times on a pair of interceptions and a fumble. He continues to battle Mike Glennon for the coveted Most Terrible Tampa Quarterback Cup.
Buccaneers RB -- Were you happy to see Doug Martin return? Did you put him in your lineup? I'm sorry. He was able to turn 11 rushes into only 27 yards against Chicago on Sunday, catching just one of his three pass targets for four whole yards. Martin continues to set new and exciting standards for atrocious play at the running back position, like Trent Richardson on the opposite of steroids. Charles Sims was little used and not productive when he was, and Bobby Rainey didn't do much outside of catching the ball four times (for 18 yards).
Buccaneers WR -- While Mike Evans was, as usual, the favorite target on Sunday, he managed to reel in only three of the inaccurate McCown's 11 passes, though he still picked up 47 yards and a touchdown to save his fantasy day. Vincent Jackson's five catches for 117 led the way, but he lost a fumble. Louis Murphy was just one short of V-Jax's nine targets, and he delivered a team-high six catches for 113 yards of his own after not exceeding 13 yards in any of the previous four games.
Titans WR -- Justin Hunter's use took a spike in Week 12, as he led the team in targets with a cool 10, catching just four for 64 yards and a touchdown. Kendall Wright drew six targets, but got shut out entirely before a late 28-yard grab, and Nate Washington had a blast-from-the-past game, catching four balls for 63 yards, which is pretty classic Nate Washington stuff.
Titans TE -- Six days after sitting out on Monday night, Delanie Walker returned with a huge bang, ripping off five catches for 155 yards against the Eagles in Week 12. His nine targets were second on the team only to Hunter.
Redskins TE -- Jordan Reed's hamstring kept him out again Sunday, but Niles Paul and Logan Paulsen didn't turn out much production in a brutally awful game for Robert Griffin. Not a great QB situation in Washington right now.
