This article is part of our Depth Chart Watch series.
Cardinals WR - With Michael Floyd getting silenced on just four targets Sunday, Larry Fitzgerald busted out with his second big game in three weeks, catching seven of 10 targets for 160 yards and a score. John Brown busted out too, reeling in five balls for 119 yards, capped off by the game-winning 75-yard touchdown within the final two minutes. Floyd wasn't hurt and nearly scored a long touchdown in the first half, but his declining targets are a matter of some concern - he hasn't had double-digit passes thrown his way a single time this year, and over the last four weeks, Brown has seen 23 targets to Floyd's 21.
Falcons RB - Another day, another typical Steven Jackson stat line: 18 carries, 60 yards, with a fantasy-day-saving one-yard touchdown. His trio of backups did nothing, though, aside from Jacquizz Rodgers' three catches for 28 yards and Devonta Freeman's seven-yard TD reception. For the second straight week, Antone Smith didn't bust a big play - we all knew that had to average out at some point.
Ravens WR - In an awful game for Joe Flacco, no Ravens receiver delivered the goods in Week 8, but the pass distribution was curious. Steve Smith continued to lead the way, getting targeted nine times (though he reeled in just three), but Flacco's second-favorite target was surprisingly Kamar Aiken, though he made just two catches on his six chances for 15 yards. Torrey Smith left the game for a time in the third quarter, but returned; nonetheless, he was only targeted twice all game and caught neither.
Bills RB - As expected, Anthony Dixon led the backfield for the Bills on Sunday, although he gained only 44 yards on his 22 carries. But don't get too excited if you own Bryce Brown - he averaged just 2.1 yards per carry and didn't catch any of his three pass targets. To make things worse, fullback Frank Summers stole a two-yard touchdown run. Now Buffalo goes on bye and everyone kind of regrets spending all that FAAB on Brown and/or Dixon. Still, there should be a couple of weeks after the bye before Fred Jackson (groin) is ready to return. When he does, with C.J. Spiller (collarbone) done for the season, Jackson could see more carries than ever until his body eventually collapses in on itself.
Bills WR - The Sammy Watkins breakout is officially on in full force now, and he should be the most-targeted receiver on this team pretty much every week. It's worth noting that Robert Woods has caught touchdowns in two of the last three weeks, though the Bills ' run-heavy approach left him with just three targets Sunday.
Panthers RB - Jonathan Stewart delivered a credible outing Sunday despite the Panthers' offense as a whole doing nothing, as he put together 16 rushes for 79 yards as well as three catches for 15 yards. It's not much, but our standards aren't high for Carolina backs these days. This was easily Stewart's best game of the year. There's some hope that DeAngelo Williams (ankle) could return for Thursday's matchup with New Orleans, which would further dilute the value in this backfield.
Bengals RB - Giovani Bernard hurt his hip on Sunday and wasn't able to return, leaving Jeremy Hill as the top rusher. Hill wasn't terribly effective against the Ravens, but would be in line for a juicy start against Jacksonville in Week 9 if the banged-up Bernard is unable to go. Even Bernard is alright, the Bengals might choose to give Hill more touches to keep their electric starting back healthy in the long run.
Bengals WR - Yep, there another big Mohamed Sanu game Sunday, but A.J. Green (foot) said he'll be good enough to go in Week 9 against the Jags. All things equal, though, I suspect Green will remain limited for a week or two (or longer, if he ends up aggravating his injury), meaning Sanu should keep seeing a large number of targets. Even when Green returns, Sanu's shown he's firmly in the circle of trust. Greg Little was No. 2 in targets with five Sunday even though Brandon Tate (two targets) was ostensibly the No. 2 receiver.
Browns QB - Everyone was just waiting for Brian Hoyer to implode in Week 8 against the Raiders so the Browns could happily go to Johnny Manziel, but Hoyer delivered a very credible passing line (19-for-28, 275 yards and a touchdown) in a winning effort, so he'll surely keep his gig for at least another week.
Browns RB - Terrance West not-so-intriguingly out-touched Isaiah Crowell in Week 8, while Ben Tate unsurprisingly retained the top workload. West had seven carries and a catch to Crowell's one and one, but neither turned in anything remotely resembling fantasy relevance. Even Tate only had his fantasy day saved by a short touchdown run, as he gained a whopping 26 yards on 15 carries. Not an impressive showing against the Oakland defense.
Browns WR - Andrew Hawkins led the team in targets with nine for the second straight week Sunday, producing 88 yards and a score; Taylor Gabriel's three were enough to make him the second-most-used wide receiver. Miles Austin caught both of his targets, which at least makes him better than Travis Benjamin, who didn't catch either of his. Outside of Hawkins, no Browns receiver is really worth owning except in horrifically deep formats. Oh, except for that Josh Gordon guy - he's still in line to return in time for Week 12.
Browns TE - Jordan Cameron had another quiet game Sunday, catching three of five for 40 yards, and then suffered a concussion. Jim Dray remains in line to be the next man up - he caught both his passes for 27 yards in place of Cameron.
Broncos RB - Ronnie Hillman owners were made miserable in Week 8 by Juwan Thompson, who stole a pair of goal-line touchdown runs from him on Thursday night. Of course, Hillman still delivered a high-quality line, clearing 100 total yards for the third straight week. Montee Ball (groin) appears to still be a couple weeks away from returning, and when he does, why would the Broncos hand him anything? He's averaged just 3.1 YPC to Hillman's 4.7.
Broncos WR - Things just got worse for Wes Welker on Sunday, as he managed just two catches for five yards. Meanwhile, Emmanuel Sanders exploded to catch all nine of his targets for a game-high 120 yards and three (three!) touchdowns. Of course, Demaryius Thomas remains the No. 1 target, but his fantasy owners can't be happy to see Sanders get all the TDs. I know I'm not.
Lions RB - Reggie Bush (ankle) couldn't go in Week 8, leaving Joique Bell to put up another uninspiring starting line (18 carries for 39 yards, three catches for 22). Theo Riddick was heavily used in the pass game, getting targeted a dozen times and catching eight for 74 yards and a touchdown. Riddick could retain some utility in this offense with Bell not playing well and Bush always getting hurt.
Lions WR - Sunday makes it four straight 100-plus-yard games for Golden Tate with Calvin Johnson (ankle) hurting, but I fully expect Megatron to return in Week 10 after the Lions' bye. That'll push Corey Fuller and Jeremy Ross down the depth chart even further, though they couldn't even see heavy use with Johnson out.
Lions TE - Brandon Pettigrew, Eric Ebron and Joseph Fauria all had to sit out Week 8 due to injury, which left Kellen Davis and Jordan Thompson to occupy tight end duties. Neither was targeted.
Packers RB - James Starks had been carving out a bigger role, but Week 8 saw Eddie Lacy take almost all the touches and totally blow up, catching eight balls for 123 yards to go with 59 rushing yards. Starks looks like nothing more than a handcuff right now.
Packers WR - Even with Aaron Rodgers airing it out for 418 yards on 39 pass attempts, somehow Jordy Nelson only saw five targets Sunday, catching three balls for a season-low 25 yards with the Saints blanketing him in coverage. Davante Adams (seven catches on eight targets for 75 yards) ended up being more heavily used.
Colts RB - Trent Richardson (hamstring) didn't play Sunday despite being active, but with the Colts playing from behind, Ahmad Bradshaw only had six carries - though he did produce 35 yards and a touchdown. He was more heavily used in the pass game, catching all seven of his targets for 52 yards.
Colts WR - Whoa there - good morning, Donte Moncrief. After being targeted 11 times in the first seven games of the year, Moncrief busted out in the absence of Reggie Wayne on Sunday, catching seven of 12 targets for 113 yards and a touchdown. (T.Y. Hilton continued his huge year, of course, racking up 155 and a score.) After the game of his career, Moncrief could move into the No. 3 role ahead of Hakeem Nicks permanently.
Jaguars RB - Denard Robinson led the Jags' rushing attack again in Week 8 despite the return of Toby Gerhart, and he surprisingly delivered another good line, running 18 times for 108 yards and adding a catch for 10. Robinson's now run the ball 40 times for 235 yards over the last two games. Robinson's the clear No. 1 back here, but it's questionable whether he can continue producing fantasy-relevant yardage for a Jacksonville team that's had a ton of trouble establishing the run.
Jaguars WR - Allen Robinson was Blake Bortles' favored receiver Sunday, catching five out of 10 balls for 82 yards and a touchdown. Cecil Shorts, meanwhile, had a quiet game, catching three of seven for 41 yards; it wouldn't be surprising to see Robinson draw more targets the rest of the way. And, of course, Allen Hurns largely did business as the No. 3 man over Marqise Lee.
Chiefs RB - With the Chiefs dumping on the Rams on Sunday, Jamaal Charles had a big game, but ended up being outcarried 16-13 by Knile Davis. No worries; Charles will continue getting the first crack at the carries in Kansas City.
Dolphins RB - As expected, Lamar Miller continued leading the way Sunday, putting up 99 total yards. No one's coming to take this job from him with Knowshon Moreno (knee) done for the year. Daniel Thomas is the league's least-exciting backup rusher.
Dolphins TE - Charles Clay managed to turn his three targets into one catch for one yard Sunday, while Dion Sims caught both his targets for 51 yards. Clay's still probably the better tight end to own here, which isn't saying much.
Vikings RB - Jerick McKinnon delivered another fine rushing line Sunday, averaging 5.2 YPC on his 16 carries, while Matt Asiata managed all of one yard on his four runs, though he remains more useful than McKinnon in the pass game. Which isn't saying much.
Vikings WR -Cordarrelle Patterson emerged with a dozen targets on Sunday, catching six for a team-best 86 yards, although that's not exactly an explosive performance against one of the league's worst pass defenses. Patterson's at least been showing a little better lately, and he could keep coming on in the second half of the season. As usual, Greg Jennings functioned as the No. 2, and he caught Teddy Bridgewater's only touchdown.
Patriots RB - Did you enjoy Shane Vereen's big Week 7? That's good, because Jonas Gray got the majority of the carries Sunday - 17! - and put up 86 rushing yards while Vereen picked up just 45 total yards. However, Vereen did miss some practice time with an illness, which could have contributed to his lightened workload - it's an interesting time to buy low on him if you have a good record, as fantasy owners will surely mark Gray's heavy usage as well as the fact that the Pats haven't yet had their bye.
Patriots WR - Julian Edelman saw a season-low four targets in Week 8, as his workload was the one cut to make room for Brandon LaFell's 11-target, 11-catch, 124-yards-and-a-touchdown extravaganza. Danny Amendola caught two balls for five yards and no other Pats wideout was targeted. Thank the tight ends.
Patriots TE - While Rob Gronkowski was a 149-yard, three-TD monster on Sunday, Tim Wright turned in a very useful game as well, catching all seven of his own targets in Tom Brady's surgical performance for 61 yards and a score. That's three out of four games with a touchdown for Wright, but it's been an odd stretch, as he was only targeted one time in total during the two middle games.
Saints RB - Mark Ingram broke out with a dominant performance against the Packers on Sunday night, rushing 24 times for a whopping 172 yards and a score - more than doubling his yardage total for the season. No other Saint carried the ball more than twice, while Travaris Cadet - as expected - took over Pierre Thomas's role in the pass game.
Saints WR - Brandin Cooks had his first big game in what seems like forever on Sunday, reeling in six of seven targets for 94 yards and a touchdown - all team highs. The other Saints wideouts were used fairly little, with Kenny Stills catching all four of his targets for 57 yards, while Marques Colston caught four of five for 49 yards.
Saints TE -Jimmy Graham (shoulder) was almost his normal self again Sunday, catching five passes for 59 yards and a score. Josh Hill did steal a short touchdown from him, though. Still, Graham can be used as usual.
Giants RB - It's still questionable whether Rashad Jennings (knee) will be able to return in Week 9 against the Colts, which means Andre Williams could be in line to lead the Giants' rushing attack once more. Williams has been far from impressive in that role, though, so it's not like you should rush him back into your lineups unless your other options are thin.
Giants TE - I'll be watching in Week 9 to see what kind of role Larry Donnell sees after two costly fumbles before the bye. The door could be open for Daniel Fells a little here.
Jets QB - Geno Smith had a short day Sunday, throwing three interceptions in his first eight attempts before being pulled for Michael Vick, who ran effectively, but was a horribly inefficient passer and also turned it over three times (an interception and two fumbles). At this point, the mercy rule should apply to the Jets' season and they should be gifted Peyton Manning or something. Geno had X-rays on his shoulder after the game, but it's unclear what sort of injury he might have or when he might have suffered it. Rex Ryan, for his part, said he has "no idea" who's going to start next week. Promising.
Jets WR - Percy Harvin's Jets debut resulted in the superbly Jets-like receiving line of three catches for 22 yards, to which he added four runs for 28 yards. Eric Decker remained heavily targeted (10 times!) Sunday, though he generated just 40 yards on his seven catches. And yeah, the Jets just signed Jeremy Kerley to a contract extension because, well, I think they just hate their fans. Two catches for 25 yards! Woo!
Jets TE - Jace Amaro was the most productive receiver for the Jets on Sunday, catching all five balls thrown his way for 51 yards. Not much of a payoff, but a lot better than Jeff Cumberland's zero catches on two targets. Things keep going Amaro's way, except for that whole playing-for-the-Jets thing. .
Raiders RB - Well, the Raiders said they wanted to get Maurice Jones-Drew some more touches, so he ended up with six carries and a catch on Sunday, which he turned into a total of 10 yards. Darren McFadden delivered 85 total yards and a shiny 4.9 YPC, but also lost a fumble and failed to find the end zone. Still, he continues to lead the way.
Raiders WR - After a quiet first game with Oakland, Kenbrell Thompkins was worked into the gameplan much more heavily Sunday, though he only produced four catches and 34 yards on his eight targets. James Jones was the leader in targets with 11 in a high-volume day for David Carr, with Andre Holmes (seven targets, six catches, 69 yards) delivering the only meaningful fantasy line thanks to his TD grab.
Eagles WR - Riley Cooper may ostensibly be the No. 2 receiver here, but he was out-targeted by Jordan Matthews on Sunday, 11-8. Matthews has generally been seeing as many as or more targets than Cooper has, but Cooper's been more productive and doesn't seem ready to relinquish the role. It's worth noting, with the trade deadline approaching, that the Eagles are among the teams that have expressed interest in Vincent Jackson.
Steelers WR - The Pittsburgh passing game blew up for 500-plus yards on Sunday, but the best of those riches went to Antonio Brown, who delivered yet another massive line. Martavis Bryant delivered his second straight fantasy-friendly line, catching five balls on seven targets for 83 yards and three touchdowns, and Markus Wheaton even made himself useful, picking up 56 yards and a score by catching all five passes throwing his way. For all intents and purposes, Bryant seems to have leapt into the No. 2 role here.
Chargers RB - Branden Oliver again led the San Diego backfield on Thursday, but his utility seems to be withering a little - his fantasy output has declined for three straight weeks now, although his seven catches against the Broncos at least helped PPR owners. Ryan Mathews' knee continues to get healthier, although it's questionable whether he'll be ready for Week 9.
Chargers WR - Finally, Keenan Allen was able to turn his many targets into a small amount of fantasy respectability in Week 8, as he accumulated nine catches for 73 yards and a touchdown on a game-high 13 targets. Still… I'd like to see better results from Philip Rivers feeding his No. 1 receiver. Meanwhile, Malcom Floyd doesn't do much with his looks either, and Eddie Royal hasn't been useful in weeks.
Seahawks WR - The first week without Percy Harvin was a quiet one for the Seattle passing offense as a whole, but Doug Baldwin was unsurprisingly the most heavily targeted receiver. He didn't create much excitement with his eight looks, though, catching six balls for 61 yards. Meanwhile, no other Seahawks wideout was targeted more than three times. There have been rumblings that Seattle is a serious player for Vincent Jackson, which would make sense.
Seahawks TE - Luke Willson caught the game-winning touchdown Sunday after missing the previous week with a groin issue, though it was his only grab of the day. Cooper Helfet was targeted just as much (four times) and was even less efficient, which isn't promising. Zach Miller (ankle) doesn't seem terribly close to returning, but it's hard to tell with so little news coming out.
Rams RB - In an unsurprisingly tough game against the Chiefs in KC, the Rams' ineffective offense didn't end up running a ton of plays, and as a result, Tre Mason led the team in carries and rush yards with seven and 32, respectively. Tough one for those who started Mason, but anyone who gambled with Benny Cunningham or Zac Stacy did just as bad. It doesn't look like Mason did anything to lose his job here - he should keep being the most heavily used member of this trio. It's worth noting that Stacy out-touched Cunningham, though he didn't do it very efficiently.
Buccaneers RB - Ineffective even when healthy, Doug Martin didn't help himself Sunday by injuring his ankle in the third quarter. If Martin misses time, Bobby Rainey (who caught all six of his pass targets despite not generating a ton of offense) would be in line to lead the rushing attack once more, and would be a boom-or-bust option, as is usual when he starts.
Buccaneers WR - Tampa's miserable offense didn't get much going in Week 8, with Vincent Jackson (ribs) particularly rough, catching just one out of five targets. Jackson has, as mentioned, been the subject of many a trade rumor, and he could be headed out of town by Tuesday afternoon's trade deadline. That would, in theory, leave Mike Evans as the unquestioned top dog and Louis Murphy the No. 2 man.
Titans QB - As it turns out, Tennessee seems to be done with Jake Locker. The team moved on to Zach Mettenberger on Sunday, but the results were a mixed bag - Mettenberger did finish with 299 yards and two touchdowns, but also had an interception, lost a fumble, and got beaten 30-16. Still, it seems like Mettenberger could keep seeing starts as the Titans try to figure out what they've got in him.
Titans RBShonn Greene (hamstring) made his way back into the action Sunday, but rushed one time for one yard in a backup role behind Bishop Sankey, who put up yet another near-worthless fantasy line. For all his preseason hype, Sankey's turned out to be one of the game's least-valuable starting backs.
Titans WR - Justin Hunter dominated Mettenberger's attention in Week 8 (10 targets), but only a last-minute 12-yard touchdown saved his fantasy day from utter ruin. Kendall Wright went back to Average Town (where everyone is totally average), and Nate Washington ended up the leading receiver with four catches for 68 yards. We'll need to see more out of Mettenberger to figure out whether we're seeing trends or not in this situation.
Redskins QB - Robert Griffin (ankle) is considered questionable for Monday night against the Cowboys, but I'd say it's pretty unlikely he plays. Expect Colt McCoy to be out there against Dallas, and recognize that Washington may choose to play it safe and hold Griffin out through the Week 10 bye. But come Week 11 against the Bucs, I fully anticipate Griffin to be the starter.
Redskins TE - Even though Jordan Reed was the main tight end for Washington on Sunday and drew six targets, he ended up being outproduced (58 yards to 54) by Niles Paul even though Paul was targeted just twice. Logan Paulsen got a target too. Still, Reed has put together a pair of solid outings in a row for PPR purposes since returning from his hamstring injury.
