This article is part of our Depth Chart Watch series.
Cardinals RB -- Andre Ellington's fantasy owners just experienced a pre-playoff disaster, with Ellington leaving Sunday's game due to a hip injury. Marion Grice replaced him, but didn't make much of an impact – nor has Stepfan Taylor when he's had his chances. Grice is the pickup in case Ellington misses time, as he seems to be in line to gain a significant majority of the touches.
Cardinals WR -- Larry Fitzgerald's MCL sprain kept him out again Sunday, which opened the door for Jaron Brown to turn a season-high seven targets into seven catches for 75 yards (both season highs and team highs). Michael Floyd's nine targets led the team, but he caught just five for 53 and lost a fumble, so things are still ugly there. Ted Ginn stunningly picked up a season-high seven targets, but his four catches for 61 yards don't move the needle much. It's worth watching to see if Brown draws this much attention next week; usually, his non-relation John Brown sees much more work, but John was targeted just twice Sunday.
Falcons RB -- Well, if I was a betting man – and I am – I would have bet you that Steven Jackson wouldn't have his first 100-yard game as a Falcon against the Cardinals, of all teams, as Arizona owns one of the league's top run defenses. But… he did. And he did it on only 18 carries, racking up a 5.6 YPC! It must be a blue moon. But don't worry – Devonta Freeman still got nine total touches (which he turned into a whole 30 yards) and Jacquizz Rodgers got seven of his own (22 total yards). Which really just makes Jackson's game that much more impressive.
Falcons WR -- Roddy White had to sit out with an ankle injury in Week 13; as usual when White's out, Harry Douglas stepped right in and delivered a highly credible fantasy line – nine grabs on a cool dozen targets (two more than Julio Jones!) for 116 yards. Devin Hester didn't see much extra run, catching just one of four targets for 10 yards.
Ravens WR -- Torrey Smith continued his touchdown binge Sunday, notching two among his six receptions on a team-leading eight targets for a team-leading 65 yards. He's scored eight touchdowns all year, and they've come in the last nine weeks. He's also been drawing more consistent targets lately; after averaging just over five per game over the first nine games of the season, Smith's had the ball thrown his way 29 times in the last four games – that's more than seven targets per game. However, he suffered an apparent right leg injury that reportedly had him limping after the game. Meanwhile, a two-yard day for Steve Smith! Things were looking up after last week's resurgence, but that unsurprisingly didn't last. Kamar Aiken tied him in looks with four, finishing second on the team with 51 receiving yards.
Bills QB -- After a strong start last week against the Jets, Kyle Orton came back with another miserable outing against Cleveland this week, completing less than 55 percent of his passes and throwing a couple picks. On the bright side, he hadn't turned the ball over in four weeks coming in; it doesn't seem likely that this will make the Bills run to EJ Manuel.
Bills RB -- A week after seeing his workload ramp up a bit, Fred Jackson was back to full duties on Sunday, rushing 21 times for 70 yards and tacking on 27 more yards on three catches – all apparently without breaking his hip, or whatever old people do when they get old. I don't know, I'm 28 and my hip is messed up already. Anyway, Anthony Dixon ended up with the bigger end of the backup duties, but neither he nor Bryce Brown made much impact.
Bills WR -- While Chris Hogan returned to relative obscurity Sunday, he caught the only passing touchdown for Buffalo, though he only totaled two catches on four targets for eight yards. Sammy Watkins had a fourth straight quiet week and just clearly isn't totally right with his health right now. Not that Joe Haden isn't a great cornerback, but Watkins is one of those guys who's supposed to be (or become) matchup-proof. Robert Woods saw as many targets as Watkins (seven), tying for the team lead in receiving yardage with 71.
Bills TE -- And whom did Woods tie for the team lead in receiving yards? Well, that's none other than the alleged backup tight end, MarQueis Gray, who turned in a pair of huge plays – a 41-yarder and a 30-yarder – on Sunday in his Bills debut. Appropriately, this production came against the Browns, who employed Gray last year. Scott Chandler, meanwhile, caught three passes for two yards, which is impressive. It's hard to know what to make of the undrafted Gray, but he clearly has the most explosiveness among Buffalo's options; it wouldn't be surprising to see him consistently drain targets from the ineffectual Chandler.
Panthers RB -- Hey, Jonathan Stewart showed up on the fantasy radar on Sunday! He racked up 85 rush yards on just 12 carries and tacked on 25 through the air – easily his best game of the year. DeAngelo Williams did not make much of his own seven carries. Truly, Stewart was the only legitimate bright spot for Carolina in this one.
Bears RB -- Don't get too worried about Matt Forte's meager five carries for six yards Thursday, as he still did produce six catches for 52 yards – not production that'll save your fantasy day, but signs of life nonetheless. The Bears simply had to turn to the pass a lot while trailing all game long.
Bengals RB -- The Bengals stuck with Jeremy Hill in the bigger end of their timeshare Sunday, as he had 13 rushes and four targets (catching all four) to Giovani Bernard's 10 and one. Nonetheless, Bernard narrowly outproduced his counterpart, with 53 total yards against Hill's 52. Still, we'll want to see one of them (cough, cough, Gio) retake nearly full control of the situation next week.
Bengals WR -- Among the names you never expected to lead the Bengals in receiving: James Wright, who caught three passes for 59 yards Sunday. A.J. Green finished two yards shy, but scored a touchdown, so that takes the edge off. Mohamed Sanu was the greatest victim of Wright's big day, as he was targeted only three times and produced just 19 yards.
Browns QB -- Finally. Finally! The Browns finally – finally! – saw enough of Brian Hoyer on Sunday after he went 18-for-30 for 192 yards and two interceptions. In the fourth quarter, they turned to Johnny Football himself, Johnny Manziel, and were not filled with regret over it. Manziel went 5-for-8 for 63 yards and rushed twice for 13 yards, including a touchdown. It wasn't enough to mount a comeback, but it sure looked promising. Nothing's been set in stone, but I sincerely doubt Hoyer takes another snap for the Browns this year.
Browns RB -- Despite drawing the vast majority of the carries Sunday, Isaiah Crowell found himself outgained on the ground by Terrance West, who needed just seven carries to gain 32 yards while Crowell picked up an atrocious 29 yards on 17 runs. West did lose a costly fumble, but it was his first of the year – Crowell's lost two already despite having seen significantly fewer touches. I wouldn't be surprised to see West seesaw back into the lead role next week.
Browns WR -- Josh Gordon's encore wasn't quite as impressive as his debut thanks to the Browns' quarterback issues, but he remained the most heavily used receiver (seven catches on 12 targets), as you'd expect. Miles Austin drew a surprising nine targets and ended up leading the team with seven grabs for 86 yards. Meanwhile, Andrew Hawkins was little used and Taylor Gabriel was all but invisible.
Cowboys WR -- Cole Beasley saw his role grow again Thursday, as he was targeted a season-high seven times, but after a modest four catches for 41 yards and a lost fumble, he may not enjoy such heavy use going forward. Terrence Williams (finger) generated a couple good plays, but still ended up with a modest 38 yards on four targets. But the entire Dallas air game was shut down in Week 13.
Broncos RB -- C.J. Anderson: Still a star. On Sunday, he only picked up another 185 total yards and a receiving touchdown. No big deal. Ronnie Hillman's still not practicing and neither is Montee Ball, so it's gonna be all Anderson, all the time for the near future.
Broncos TE -- Jacob Tamme was quiet again Sunday with Julius Thomas still out, catching just one of two targets for four yards. Virgil Green caught his only target for 10 yards, so there's really just not much of interest here if Thomas isn't good to go.
Lions RB -- With Reggie Bush (ankle) sitting again, Joique Bell turned in a stunningly productive performance against the Bears, taking all 23 of the team's rushes for 91 yards and two touchdowns. Bell also caught a pair of passes for 16 yards, but Theo Riddick was more productive through the air, as you'd expect, with six catches for 54 yards. No word on Bush's status for Week 14.
Lions TE -- Eric Ebron, Brandon Pettigrew and Joseph Fauria all got into the action Thursday, but only Ebron caught more than one pass, and all he managed was three for 23.
Packers WR -- With Randall Cobb getting shadowed by Darrelle Revis (though he still turned in 85 yards) and Jordy Nelson drawing double teams on every play (though he still caught a touchdown), Davante Adams got a ton of attention from Aaron Rodgers on Sunday, catching six of 11 targets for 121 yards. Adams hadn't cleared 13 yards in any of the prior three weeks, so it's likely that precious few fantasy owners benefited from the big game.
Texans QB -- Uh, so, the Texans aren't feeling that bad about going back to Ryan Fitzpatrick anymore, right? All he did was go Full Roethlisberger, completing 24 of 33 passes for 358 yards and… wait for it… six touchdowns. Yes. Ryan Fitzpatrick. Meanwhile, Ryan Mallett (chest) will spend the rest of the year on IR.
Texans RB -- Arian Foster (groin) came back in Week 13, retaking the majority of the rushing load and handling one of Fitzpatrick's six touchdown tosses. Alfred Blue was relegated to useless backup, gaining six yards on seven carries. Jonathan Grimes also got a little action, carrying five times for 13 yards.
Texans WR -- Well, we can't go without mentioning DeAndre Hopkins' nine catches on nine targets for 238 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday. Because that's pretty good. Andre Johnson saw more targets (11), and yet he produced approximately exactly 185 fewer yards. Hopkins is now over 1,000 yards for the first time in his career despite inconsistency and largely poor quarterback play – I like him to really bust out with a huge Year 3 in 2015.
Colts RB -- Dan Herron and Trent Richardson saw the same number of carries (eight) on Sunday. One of them gained 12 yards and the other gained 88. Want to guess which stat line belongs to which player? Yeah, Richardson was good for 12 yards. Herron did lose a fumble, but his rushing work was still miles better, which should mean he holds onto a big share (if not the starting role) going forward.
Colts WR -- Andrew Luck sent nearly as many passes (four) in the direction of Donte Moncrief as he did T.Y Hilton and Reggie Wayne (five each) Sunday against Washington, and the result was an explosive performance by the rookie, who led the team with 134 yards and two long touchdowns among his three catches. Hilton caught all five of his targets, but had less than half as many yards; Wayne was quieter still, with just 31 yards on four grabs.
Colts TE -- Ah, this is the Coby Fleener we've been looking for. The team leader in targets (seven) Sunday, Fleener reeled in four balls for 127 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Long touchdowns. Fantasy-relevant touchdowns. But last week was quiet, so be aware that your mileage may vary on a matchup basis.
Jaguars RB -- Denard Robinson got outrushed by his quarterback on Sunday, which is just never good. Robinson was okay, running 11 times for 44 yards, but he gained only 10 yards on three catches, generally showing an inability to bust the big plays that defined his hot streak. Nonetheless, Toby Gerhart's five rushes for seven yards won't change the game here.
Jaguars WR -- Marqise Lee led the way Sunday for the Jags, catching six of eight targets for 75 yards and the team's lone touchdown through the air. Allen Hurns and Cecil Shorts each saw eight targets too, but neither made much of that work.
Jaguars TE -- Another uneventful game for Marcedes Lewis on Sunday (two catches, eight yards) makes me long for the good old days of Clay Harbor, who caught one of his two targets for 17 yards. Not much fantasy value to be found with this duo splitting fairly minimal looks.
Chiefs TE -- Anthony Fasano is basically making a hobby out of angering Travis Kelce's fantasy owners, as Fasano swiped a 20-yard touchdown grab away from Kelce on Sunday. For his part, Kelce caught all three (yeah, just three) of his targets for a sadly team-leading 36 yards.
Dolphins WR -- Jarvis Landry seems just like the sort of receiver who's about to burn the Jets for about a million yards on Monday night. He's clearly played his way into the No. 2 role on a team that has a relatively weak No. 1 in Mike Wallace, and the Jets' secondary is brutal.
Dolphins TE -- With Charles Clay (knee) is doubtful for Week 13, so Dion Sims will likely again assume the top role at tight end Monday night.
Vikings RB -- Jerick McKinnon couldn't go Sunday after being limited over the last three games with his back injury, which left Matt Asiata to top duties. He delivered the ultimate in mediocre lines, rushing 14 times for 52 yards (that's 3.7 YPC if you don't have your calculator out) and five whole receiving yards on four receptions. Ben Tate carried five times for 15 yards in a backup role.
Vikings WR -- Teddy Bridgewater didn't need to do much throwing in Week 13, so Greg Jennings' five catches for 45 yards and a touchdown led the way. Charles Johnson held to the No. 2 role, while Cordarrelle Patterson went almost entirely unused (one target, no catches).
Vikings TE -- As expected, Kyle Rudolph took all the fantasy-relevant meaningful work at tight end Sunday, though it wasn't much. He caught two balls for seven yards, one of which was a day-saving touchdown.
Patriots RB -- LeGarrette Blount was relied upon as the Pats' top rusher Sunday against Green Bay, toting 10 times for 58 yards, but because – as you may recall – Bill Belichick hates fantasy football, Brandon Bolden vultured a touchdown away. Shane Vereen was barely used (three rushes, one nice catch) and Jonas Gray touched the ball one whole time. This situation is a true fantasy house of horrors.
Patriots TE -- Tim Wright's inconsistent utilization continued Sunday, as he followed his two-touchdown Week 12 by catching just one pass (his only target) for 12 yards against the Packers. For comparison, Rob Gronkowski saw 12 targets.
Saints WR -- Kenny Stills was a man among boys Sunday. How much better was he than anyone else? Well, Nick Toon and backup tight end Josh Hill tied for second on the team with 17 yards receiving. Stills was first – with 162 and a touchdown. And yet he saw just one more target (six) than Marques Colston, who caught three of his five for all of 16 yards.
Saints TE -- The Steelers shut down Jimmy Graham completely in Week 13 – he didn't even draw a target. Not one. What the… what? Even with three defensive backs layered on top of him, Graham should draw at least a few passes. But he didn't, and in the meantime Benjamin Watson caught a 15-yard touchdown to accompany Hill's 17-yard catch.
Giants RB -- Rashad Jennings turned in a sub-4.0 YPC on Sunday, the third straight game since returning in which he's done that, but he did manage 94 total yards and two scores. That'll do. Andre Williams didn't manage much in his backup role, carrying eight times to Jennings' 26.
Jets QB -- Rex Ryan announced last week that he expects Geno Smith to start for the duration of the season, and also that you should start any and every fantasy defense against the Jets. Maybe I'm just reading between the lines with that second part.
Raiders QB -- Derek Carr was fairly atrocious Sunday, racking up an impressively poor 173 yards and two interceptions on 39 pass attempts. He was so bad that the Raiders went to Matt Schaub, who threw a pick and lost a fumble of his own in limited action. However, Oakland's expected to roll Carr out there for the duration of the season.
Raiders RB -- No Latavius Murray? No offense. Marcel Reece was the best of a bad bunch Sunday, gaining 48 yards through the air, but just 12 on the ground, and he lost a good portion of those points with a fumble. Do you need me to tell you that Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones-Drew were useless? Surprise! They were useless. McFadden rushed for 27 yards on a team-leading 11 carries, which is pretty standard fare for him. Perhaps Murray's concussion symptoms will pass in time for him to play in Week 14.
Eagles QB -- Another effective instance of game managing by Mark Sanchez, and another win – his fourth in five starts for the Eagles. Meanwhile, Nick Foles is healing on schedule and could theoretically be back as soon as Week 15, though that's probably optimistic. I do think the Eagles will go back to Foles when he's ready.
Eagles WR -- Things got back to normal here Thursday, with Jeremy Maclin drawing the most targets (10) and producing a team-leading eight grabs for 108 yards, while Jordan Matthews was productive on his five targets, largely due to an early touchdown catch. Riley Cooper drew more targets than Matthews, which is noteworthy, but Cooper was not very efficient. Still, he continues to draw six-plus targets every week even with Matthews and Maclin accounting for a lot of the Eagles' quarterbacks' attention.
Steelers RB -- It'd probably be smart to own Dri Archer as a handcuff to Le'Veon Bell now. By the way, Bell racked up 254 total yards on Sunday and now has 476 yards from scrimmage over the last two games. The Steelers seem to just be taking turns putting up incredible offensive stat lines this year.
Chargers WR -- Keenan Allen lives! He posted his second straight 100-yard effort Sunday, racking up 11 catches on 15 targets for 121 yards and a pair of scores, including a diving beaut in the middle of the end zone and a terrific catch by the sideline that he carried over the pylon. Allen's catch rate at large still isn't where you'd like to see it, but he's looking like the legitimate No. 1 for San Diego for what's truly the first time all year.
49ers RB -- Carlos Hyde managed to lead the Niners in receiving on Thursday, but those three catches 38 yards (plus 19 on the ground) didn't exactly make anyone's fantasy day. Frank Gore carried twice as many times (10) as Hyde, producing a meager 28 yards and an eight-yard catch. What a wasteland this has been.
Seahawks RB -- Marshawn Lynch (back) largely handled his business as usual Thursday, apparently unbothered by his back while rushing 20 times for 104 yards. But Robert Turbin carved himself out a day of fantasy utility through the air, catching a pair of passes for 47 yards and a touchdown. Lynch apparently feels like he's close to the end of his NFL career, but that won't impact fantasy leagues until next year. Own Turbin and electric third-stringer Christine Michael in keeper formats wherever possible.
Seahawks WR -- For two straight weeks, each and every Seahawks wide receiver has been outperformed by not one, not two, but three non-wideouts – in this case, two tight ends and Turbin. I'm not even going to mention the names of anyone in this group. They don't deserve it.
Seahawks TE -- Tony Moeaki managed to lead the entire game in receiving Thursday by making one catch for 63 yards, so if your fantasy league offers points for yards per catch (as one crazy format of mine does), you probably did really well with him. Luke Willson was more heavily used, catching four of six targets for 39 yards.
Rams QB -- Shaun Hill turned in a solid game-managing effort in Sunday's rout of Oakland, and he totaled three touchdowns (one rushing) to help fantasy owners see past his low yardage. The Rams will surely stick with him.
Rams WR -- Stedman Bailey turned in another big game Sunday against the Raiders, leading the team in every receiving category – five catches, six targets, 100 yards. No other wideout had more than 13 yards. Bailey's breakout looks legit. Kenny Britt was targeted only once and Tavon Austin just isn't a No. 1 type.
Rams TE -- Jared Cook posted a donut on Sunday, getting targeted only one time – quite the drop from last week's nine. Meanwhile, Cory Harkey caught himself a touchdown among two catches for 12 yards. It ain't much, but it's more than Cook, who's been largely worthless this year.
Buccaneers QB -- Josh McCown had a miserable Week 13, completing 15 of 29 for 190 yards and a pick. But it's not like the Bucs have much in the way of recourse, having already seen what Mike Glennon has to offer.
Buccaneers RB -- The Bucs really committed to Doug Martin on Sunday, giving him 18 carries, and though he produced an inefficient 58 yards, he at least turned in a solid fantasy day thanks to a seven-yard rushing score. Charles Sims carried only five times for six yards, but did tie for the team lead in receiving yards, reeling in all four of his targets for 49 three-foot segments.
Buccaneers WR -- Louis Murphy was targeted five times -- more than Vincent Jackson yet again – on Sunday, but he caught only one pass for seven yards. Jackson saw four targets, reeling in two for a useless 24 yards. But even Mike Evans was quieted by the Bengals, as he caught only four of his nine looks for 49 yards.
Titans QB -- Zach Mettenberger suffered a shoulder sprain on Sunday, which caused Jake Locker to end up getting some run. Locker was predictably bad, turning the ball over three times while passing much less efficiently than Mettenberger. With an AC joint sprain in his throwing shoulder, Mettenberger is far from a lock for Week 14 against the Giants.
Titans RB -- Bishop Sankey ended up yielding nine carries (while taking just 10 of his own) to Dexter McCluster on Sunday, though Sankey ended up with stronger rate stats (4.2 YPC to 3.7) and McCluster didn't do much with his three pass targets. Shonn Greene ran twice for no yards. Sankey's still the guy here, but that's not saying much. He's not likely to realize his potential in this misery-laden offense.
Titans WR -- A week after a surprising 10 targets, Justin Hunter picked up just three in a near-invisible Sunday against Houston, and he ended up in the hospital with a lacerated spleen. That does not sound pleasant, and it could keep him out a while – maybe even the rest of the year if the Titans play it safe. Kendall Wright and Nate Washington claimed nine each, and both of them found the end zone. Washington, marginalized all year long, has 15 targets in his last two games and 60-plus yards in four of five.
Titans TE -- Delanie Walker turned in a poor encore Sunday, following his 155-yard Week 12 performance with a six-yard day against the Texans. But no other Tennessee tight end got any action, so.
Redskins QB -- The 'Skins banished Robert Griffin to the bench after last week's miserable performance, so Colt McCoy drew the start Sunday against Indy. He put up 392 yards and three scores, which is pretty hot. However, he also fumbled four times, losing one – which went the other way for a touchdown.
Redskins WR -- DeSean Jackson left Sunday's game in the midst of a productive day due to a leg injury, which sounds like a bone bruise. If he misses time, it'll mean a little upgrade for Andre Roberts, but more likely a longer-term shift toward targeting running backs and tight ends in the pass game.
Redskins TE -- Hey, a Jordan Reed sighting! Reed came back from his hamstring issue to dominate Colt McCoy's attention Sunday, catching nine of 11 balls for 123 yards. Naturally, Logan Paulsen and Niles Paul found themselves playing second and/or third fiddle.
