Depth Chart Watch: Fallout From Week 2

Usually, it takes a while for all the running backs you drafted to get hurt, but that's not the case this year – the second week of the season turned into backfield injury hell, with big lineup presences like Adrian Peterson, Doug Martin, Ameer Abdullah, Jonathan Stewart, Danny Woodhead, Arian Foster and more going down. Some of those backs may be out a while; others could be back this week or next week. Let's go down the rabbit hole together.

QUARTERBACK

Chicago Bears

Jay Cutler was knocked out of the Monday night game with an injury to the thumb on his throwing hand, and there's some concern that it might be a serious issue for the 33-year-old, keeping him out for an extended period of time, though he seemingly won't need surgery. If that's the case, Bears fans will need to start learning to love Brian Hoyer, who stepped in fairly effectively after Cutler departed, going 9-for-12 for 78 yards. Hoyer's effectively fed star receivers before, so this isn't a total disaster for Alshon Jeffery owners.

Cleveland Browns

The return of Josh McCown brought with it a pretty typical fantasy line for the veteran quarterback – 260 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also suffered the second shoulder injury to a Cleveland quarterback in two weeks and now will join Robert Griffin on the sidelines while third-round rookie Cody Kessler draws the Week 3 start. Might not be a bad time to stream the Miami defense, eh?

Los Angeles Rams

Case Keenum more or less eliminated the bad mistakes in Week 2, but he was still unimpressive, going 18-for-30 for 239 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. Not exactly a performance to get the home fans revved up in the Rams' first game back in LA. What can we say about Keenum that hasn't already been said? You already know better than to own him in fantasy, I'm sure.

Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings handed the reins off to Sam Bradford as expected – although they certainly waited long enough to announce him as the starter – and he rewarded their faith with an ultra-sharp debut, going 22-for-31 for 286 yards and two touchdowns. Much of that came to Stefon Diggs, who looks like the QB upgrade from Teddy Bridgewater has him poised for fantasy stardom.

New England Patriots

Jimmy Garoppolo hurt his shoulder and was replaced by rookie Jacoby Brissett in Week 2, and it couldn't have come at a worse time – Tom Brady's four-week replacement had it all going his way, having going 18-for-27 for 234 yards and three touchdowns. Brissett was pretty effective in his place (6-for-9 for 92 yards, plus 12 more on the ground), albeit in a limited sample. With a short turnaround before Thursday's home game against Houston, it seems pretty likely that Garoppolo won't be able to start, but that's a situation fantasy owners will have to monitor. Meanwhile, Brady's got only two weeks left on his ban now.

RUNNING BACK

Atlanta Falcons

The second week of the Make Devonta Freeman Owners Sad Tour was less depressing than the first because Freeman ran efficiently, turning 17 carries into 93 yards, but Tevin Coleman still stole a dozen carries of his own and found paydirt, making him 2-for-2 in outscoring his "No. 1" back for fantasy purposes. Coleman was also thrown to twice, while Freeman – who caught 73 passes last season and all four thrown to him in Week 1 – was not targeted in the passing game at all. The particulars may vary from week to week, but it looks like this situation's going to keep burning fantasy owners until one back or the other suffers an injury.

Baltimore Ravens

Terrance West and Justin Forsett were mutually useless in Week 2, with Forsett performing slightly worse despite out-carrying West 14-11. It'd take a moment of true desperation for either to find his way into a fantasy lineup at this point.

Carolina Panthers

Jonathan Stewart suffered a relatively serious hamstring injury Sunday, and it's expected to keep him out for at least a week or two. With Stewart missing most of the game, Fozzy Whittaker delivered the day's most unexpected 100-yard effort on just 16 carries (plus another three catches for 31), though he also lost a fumble. Cameron Artis-Payne will presumably be activated with Stewart set to miss Week 3, but it seems more than likely that Whittaker's the one who'll lead the backfield at this point, with Mike Tolbert also factoring in (mostly for whatever short-yardage situations Cam Newton doesn't handle himself).

Detroit Lions

Ameer Abdullah got knocked out of Sunday's game with a foot injury and ended up in a walking boot, suggesting that he could be facing at least a week's absence pending Tuesday's exam results. Theo Riddick saw the bulk of the carries in his place, but seventh-round rookie Dwayne Washington also looked good in a small sample, breaking off a 28-yard run. If Abdullah does miss time, it seems like the reasonable approach for Detroit would be to ramp up Washington's reps while continuing to use Riddick mostly as a receiving weapon.

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Mystery of Chris Ivory remains atop the fantasy world's list of unsolved cases after two weeks. What's wrong with Ivory? No one's telling. In the meantime, T.J. Yeldon's second game carrying a full load was a dud, as the Jags were quite terrible on offense, especially in the first three quarters. With San Diego having taken the lead early and done nothing but build it up, Yeldon found his rushing opportunities limited – just seven carries for 28 yards. He did catch eight passes, but for a not-so-grand total of 10 yards. It's clear that this Jacksonville team is all about throwing the ball, not running it, which will damage the value of both backs all season long.

Green Bay Packers

Week 2 was the picture of why I'm wary of owning Eddie Lacy in fantasy. He was effective, notching a 4.2 YPC, but toted the ball only a dozen times and surprisingly ceded seven carries to James Starks, who turned them into all of three yards. Indeed, despite being significantly better, Lacy barely beat out Starks in snaps, 35-30.

Kansas City Chiefs

With Jamaal Charles (knee) still out, Spencer Ware took another starting turn Sunday, and he turned only 12 touches (10 carries and two catches) into a 105-yard day, although he also lost a fumble and didn't find the end zone. Charles is expected back in Week 3; expect him and Ware to split the work in that game, with its results possibly determining who moves forward with a bigger share of the touches.

Miami Dolphins

Arian Foster departed Sunday's game against the Pats after just three touches thanks to a groin injury, but with the Dolphins playing from behind, there weren't many carries to be found for Jay Ajayi, and Miami's lone rushing TD was scored by depth rusher Kenyan Drake (two carries). In addition to running inefficiently, Ajayi lost a fumble, with the only positive being that he caught all four of his targets for 31 yards. Foster's day-to-day right now, with his practice progress worth monitoring heading into Sunday.

Minnesota Vikings

The biggest injury news of Week 2 is the torn meniscus in Adrian Peterson's well-used knee, which rightly has his fantasy owners in turmoil. No timeline's been offered for his absence and there's some optimism that this may not be a long-term injury, but we have to expect him to be out for Week 3 even though no official announcement's been made. That means we should see increased use for Jerick McKinnon, who's always shown flash in limited opportunities, including this preseason. It seems like the Vikings will also inexplicably continue using Matt Asiata, who had more backup touches than McKinnon last week; the likelihood of a timeshare hurts the value of both players. We'll need to see how AP's injury and the in-game usage shake out before we know quite what those two will be good for.

New York Giants

Rashad Jennings banged up his hand/wrist Sunday, with the result being a 13-carry, 27-yard mess for his fantasy owners. Shane Vereen benefited from some extra work, carrying 14 times for 42 yards and snagging three catches for another 24, but he also lost a fumble. Jennings is expected to be fine for Week 3.

Oakland Raiders

I didn't feel the need to hold forth on Jalen Richard's big Week 1 in the last edition of this column, but I'm obligated to comment on just what went down in Week 2 against Atlanta. Crucially, Latavius Murray carried the ball only eight times and, although he did so extremely efficiently (7.1 YPC – with his receiving contributions, he cleared 100 yards), it's well worth noting that DeAndre Washington was also quite efficient while racking up seven rushes for 46 yards. Richard saw six carries of his own and the two backups each caught a pass, so that's a whopping 13 rushes and 15 total touches taken away from Murray – a situation that bears close monitoring moving forward.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles made heavy use of Darren Sproles in the Monday night affair, particularly early on, which had Ryan Mathews owners wondering what happened to their man. Mathews' day ended up being rescued by a pair of late touchdowns. Sproles had more carries (12-9) and more pass targets (2-1), but this may simply have been a case of the coaches identifying matchups they wanted to exploit. How much that exploitation worked is questionable, considering Sproles totaled only 48 yards on his 14 touches; in light of that, look for more involvement from Mathews next week.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Enjoy one final week of DeAngelo Williams if you own him, as we're coming up on the final week of Le'Veon Bell's suspension. Just like last year, D-Willie has been enormous for fantasy owners in Bell's absence.

San Diego Chargers

First Keenan Allen, now Danny Woodhead – San Diego fans and PPR owners who invested in the Chargers have been burned by a pair of season-ending injuries in the first two weeks. Woodhead tore his ACL on Sunday and is out for the year, and the likeliest beneficiary is Melvin Gordon, who deserves to see his work in the passing game tick up. Kenneth Farrow and Andre Williams are now Gordon's backups, with Farrow seemingly holding the edge on the No. 2 role.

Seattle Seahawks

Thomas Rawls had himself an atrocious Week 2 – seven carries for a loss of seven yards, plus three catches for 15 yards – before leaving with a leg contusion. Maybe that was just an excuse to yank him from the game, as things just were not going well. For the second straight week, Christine Michael was a far better runner. The Seahawks have some idea in their heads that Rawls' physical running style is a better fit for their game, but it's not like the bowling-ball-esque Michael isn't a physical runner himself. Michael did, however, lose a fumble Sunday, and there's no easier way to waste all the good will you've built up than turning the ball over. C.J. Prosise (who has an injury to pretty much every part of his right arm) wasn't active.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Doug Martin suffered a hamstring strain after only seven carries Sunday, although the extra work didn't pay off for Charles Sims against the stingy Arizona defense. The Bucs have a murderous slate of defenses on the immediate horizon – the Rams, Broncos and Panthers – so Martin may actually be quite happy to cede some work to Sims in that time. Martin's having an MRI on Tuesday, after which we should know more about his status; if he remains out, Sims will likely draw the vast majority of the RB touches, with Jacquizz Rodgers the likely backup.

Washington Redskins

Matt Jones got back to a fuller workload Sunday against the Cowboys, rushing 13 times for 61 yards and a score; he also caught his only pass target for another four yards. Chris Thompson was rarely involved as his backup, carrying twice for a single yard, though he did make a big play in the passing game – a 38-yarder that accounted for much of his 57 on three catches (four targets).

WIDE RECEIVER

Atlanta Falcons

After his big Falcons debut, Mohamed Sanu turned invisible against a poor Oakland secondary in Week 2, catching three of five targets for only 19 yards. Matt Ryan relied heavily on Julio Jones and the tight ends in this one, but Sanu was still second among Atlanta wideouts in targets – albeit with just five. It looks like he's going to be hard to predict from week to week.

Buffalo Bills

Sammy Watkins (foot) got on the field for Thursday Night Football, but caught only two passes for 20 yards against the Jets, with lesser receivers Marquise Goodwin and Greg Salas accounting for two huge touchdown catches (84 and 71 yards, respectively). The targets were evenly distributed between the three, but it seems likely that a healthy portion of them will head Watkins' way once he gets healthier.

Denver Broncos

Demaryius Thomas (hip) was a game-time call Sunday, but he suited up and looked good while catching five balls on seven targets for 90 yards. As usual, there was little action for any Denver wideout besides him and Emmanuel Sanders (three catches for 39 yards on eight targets). The Trevor Siemian era continues to be a far more beneficial situation for C.J. Anderson than the wide receivers.

Detroit Lions

We're now two-for-two on Marvin Jones dominating while Golden Tate brutalizes his fantasy owners. Sunday brought us a sharp eight-catch, 118-yard day for Jones, but Tate caught only two of nine targets for 13 yards. He now has nine catches for 54 yards on 16 pass targets through two games. Ugly. It's starting to look like Jones, not Tate, may in fact be the No. 1 receiver here – but it's just a bit soon to make that judgment with any certainty. Oh, by the way, Anquan Boldin had a flashback to his younger days in this one, reeling in four passes for 48 yards and a touchdown.

Indianapolis Colts

Donte Moncreif came down with a shoulder injury in the first quarter Sunday – just one aspect of the Colts' struggles to get anything going against the Denver defense. T.Y. Hilton remained heavily targeted, as usual, but didn't do much (four for 41); Phillip Dorsett caught only a single pass for 30 yards out of five targets. If Moncrief misses extended time, look for Dorsett to see extra action while Quan Bray steps into the No. 3 role.

Miami Dolphins

DeVante Parker (hamstring) made it back for Week 2, and with Miami taking a pass-heavy approach thanks to an early deficit, he ended up tying Jarvis Landry for the team lead in targets (13). The second-year man ultimately notched eight catches for 106 yards in a slightly less efficient performance than Landry's 10 for 137. Kenny Stills was marginalized accordingly, which seems likely to be the case moving forward.

New York Jets

Quincy Enunwa had another good game going in Week 2 before a rib injury derailed it, but he still ended up catching all six of his targets for 92 yards and looks like an appealing PPR play moving forward. Maybe, just maybe, at least in PPR, Ryan Fitzpatrickcan support three receivers, as Brandon Marshall bounced back from a slow Week 1 while Eric Decker had another big game against Buffalo. However, both Decker (shoulder) and Marshall (knee) are banged up, with Marshall in particular a serious threat to sit out in Week 3.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 2 was a weird one for the Pittsburgh offense, as Antonio Brown uncharacteristically couldn't get anything going and struggled with drops (only four catches for 39 yards on 11 targets). With Markus Wheaton (shoulder) still out, Sammie Coates stepped up with huge plays on his only two receptions (five targets) to end up with 97 yards; that big-play ability won't be forgotten by Big Ben and the Steelers moving forward even though Wheaton's set to return this week.

San Diego Chargers

The Chargers' first game without Keenan Allen couldn't have gone better for Travis Benjamin, who caught all six of his targets for 115 yards and two scores. Of course, that came against Jacksonville's tragic pass defense. New No. 2 man Tyrell Williams had himself a useful post-waiver-add debut on many a fantasy roster, nabbing three balls for 61 yards and a touchdown. It's worth noting that Williams and Benjamin tied for the team lead in targets with that rather meager six, but the Chargers' brutal efficiency in the passing game meant Philip Rivers only attempted 24 passes in this one. That'll change in future games.

Seattle Seahawks

Doug Baldwin picked up a knee injury to go with his 20 yards while the Seahawks flailed away in a miserable Week 2 loss, but his MRI came back negative. Still, his status remains uncertain this early in the week; if he can't go, Tyler Lockett, Jermaine Kearse and Paul Richardson would split the extra reps.

TIGHT END

New England Patriots

Rob Gronkowski stayed out in Week 2 thanks to his hamstring ailment but, unlike in the opener, Martellus Bennett actually saw the use we expected, as he caught five of his six pass targets for a big 114 yards and a score. Gronk is expected to practice on a limited basis this week, but his Week 3 availability remains highly uncertain.

Philadelphia Eagles

Zach Ertz (collarbone) was unavailable in Week 2, but Trey Burton did his very best Ertz impression, reeling in five of seven targets for 49 yards and a touchdown. Brent Celek was targeted just once; he didn't catch it. Ertz is now in the day-to-day category, with a Week 3 return not yet ruled out.

Seattle Seahawks

Jimmy Graham (knee) saw his workload increase in Week 2, as he was in on 82 percent of the offensive snaps, but a quiet day for the Seattle offense as a whole left him with three catches on four targets for 42 yards – second on the team, for whatever that's worth. Unsurprisingly, Luke Willson was marginalized as a result. Look for Graham's level of involvement to rise moving forward, especially once the Seahawks figure out what they're doing on offense.