Depth Chart Watch: Fallout From Week 6

Sometimes you need an intro; other times you just need to ease into a nice, long Depth Chart Watch. This is one of the latter cases, so let's jump right in, shall we?

QUARTERBACK

Arizona Cardinals

Carson Palmer (concussion) got cleared in time to play game manager – which was all he needed to be – in Monday's win over the hapless Jets. Have I mentioned lately that I hate being a Jets fan?

Carolina Panthers

Cam Newton (concussion) got back for Sunday's game and, after some first-half struggles, he got back on track and torched the Saints in the second half; unfortunately, it wasn't enough in a 41-38 loss. He'll get a bye week to think about it and heal up his accumulated hurts now.

Cleveland Browns

Cody Kessler (ribs) got right back out there Sunday, but despite his strong effort – 336 yards and two scores! – the Browns took yet another loss. Still, that have helped him lock in starting QB duties at least through this week's matchup with the Bengals.

Denver Broncos

Trevor Siemian (shoulder) did indeed return for Week 6, and he was well enough to hurl 50 passes, completing 30 of them for 230 yards and a touchdown. He's good to go moving forward.

New York Jets

So far, Ryan Fitzpatrick's season line looks like this: 127-for-223, 1441 yards, five touchdowns, 11 interceptions. The YPA isn't far off last year's, but the turnovers and general poor play are a disaster – one so bad that the Jets turned to prodigal son Geno Smith, who went 4-for-6, but threw an interception of his own (of course). Todd Bowles has already said that Fitzmagic remains his starter, but for how long? As a Jets fan hoping for the No. 1 pick in next year's draft, I'm happy to report that it doesn't matter because they're both terrible.

Pittsburgh Steelers

It's a disaster in western Pennsylvania, as the Steelers got stomped by Miami on Sunday and lost Ben Roethlisberger to a torn meniscus, for which he underwent surgery the very next day. There's been word of a Week 9 return, and we've seen Big Ben come back and play through injuries before, but Landry Jones will direct the Pittsburgh offense in the meantime.

San Francisco 49ers

The return of Colin Kaepernick to the starting QB job yielded a mixed bag – he ran well (eight for 66) and had a 53-yard touchdown pass to Torrey Smith, but also went just 13-for-29 (ick) as the Niners got crushed. However, he'll hold the job thanks to avoiding turnovers and generally being less bad than Blaine Gabbert.

Carolina Panthers

As expected, Jonathan Stewart returned from injury and made Cameron Artis-Payne completely irrelevant Sunday. J-Stew rushed for 85 yards and two scores on 19 carries; welcome back, buddy!

Chicago Bears

Ka'Deem Carey saw his biggest workload of the year Sunday and responded by leading the Bears in rushing with nine carries for 50 yards. That opportunity was created by Jordan Howard being horribly inefficient (15 carries for 34 yards), but the Bears' current No. 1 back bailed out his fantasy day with a one-yard touchdown. Carey, it's worth noting, is nursing a hamstring issue that limited him in practice last week, but didn't stop him from playing.

Detroit Lions

With practically every running back ever hurt for the Lions – Ameer Abdullah (knee), Theo Riddick (knee), Dwayne Washington (ankle), take your pick – Sunday's duties fell on Zach Zenner, and he actually acquitted himself reasonably well for real-life purposes, if not fantasy. Zenner ran for 58 yards on 14 carries while the newly signed Justin Forsett stunk up the joint, rushing for five yards on five opportunities.

Green Bay Packers

Eddie Lacy played through his ankle ailment – and reasonably well, considering – in Week 6, rushing 17 times for 65 yards. With James Starks inactive, the Packers ended up handing the ball to wideout Ty Montgomery three times, but he didn't do well in that role (six yards and a fumble) despite sparkling in the receiving game. Starks underwent knee surgery and is expected to be out four weeks, so accordingly, the Packers traded with the Chiefs to acquire Knile Davis, who'll step in as Lacy's backup/handcuff and probably merits a pickup in many fantasy formats in case Green Bay's top back remains banged up. As for that, well… Lacy didn't practice Tuesday.

Jacksonville Jaguars

With the bye week in the rearview mirror, Chris Ivory and T.J. Yeldon resumed their competition to be the least efficient (and most heavily utilized) Jags rusher. Ivory "won" on both counts – he carried 11 times for just 2.9 YPC (with Yeldon posting 3.5 YPC on six rushes) and scored a fourth-quarter touchdown from a yard out that started Jacksonville's comeback from a 13-0 deficit to a 17-16 win. This split will remain frustrating for those owners who are forced to roll either member of the Jags' rushing duo in fantasy.

Kansas City Chiefs

Jamaal Charles carried only nine times to Spencer Ware's 24 (leading to another huge game for Ware) Sunday, but both scored touchdowns. Andy Reid reportedly said Charles still isn't ready for every-down duty, so it looks like Ware will continue commanding the bigger end of the rushing load for at least one more week – and who knows how much longer after that.

Miami Dolphins

Arian Foster (hamstring) came back in Week 6, but all that did was motivate Jay Ajayi to start running and never stop – he went off for 204 yards and two scores on 25 carries against the Steelers while Foster touched the ball just five times, gaining a total of 15 yards. Let's face facts: Foster's washed up and Ajayi is at least the Dolphins' immediate future, if not necessarily their long-term answer at running back. He might become that, though, if he can keep running like this.

New York Giants

Rashad Jennings got back in there for Sunday's action, but the Ravens are the league's toughest run defense, and they showed it – he ran for just 15 yards on nine tries, adding 20 on four catches. Bobby Rainey (six for 13) wasn't any better, while Paul Perkins continues not to get many opportunities.

Oakland Raiders

With another Latavius Murray-free week thanks to his ongoing toe issue, DeAndre Washington ran consistently well – 10 carries for 49 yards – but didn't really help fantasy owners. Jalen Richard, so electric at times earlier this year, had a quiet week, gaining 13 total yards between four carries and two receptions.

San Francisco 49ers

Carlos Hyde – practically the Niners' only bright spot on offense – hurt his shoulder Sunday, and his status moving forward is cloudy. Mike Davis and Shaun Draughn represent ugly choices for fill-in duty if Hyde isn't able to go this week. Fortunately, the Niners have a Week 8 bye, which should allow Hyde some extra time to heal up if the injury isn't too major.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Apparently, the bye wasn't enough for Doug Martin (hamstring) to heal up, as he didn't practice Monday, which means Jacquizz Rodgers could draw another start this week in an intriguing road tilt against the Niners. Martin's status does, of course, bear monitoring as the week goes on.

WIDE RECEIVER

Chicago Bears

Cameron Meredith starred again in Week 6, reeling in 11 catches on 15 targets for 113 yards. He certainly gets on well with Brian Hoyer, doesn't he? Meredith was targeted more than Alshon Jeffery again, but the Bears' ostensible No. 1 receiver wasn't a slouch, reeling in seven grabs for 93 yards on 13 targets.

Dallas Cowboys

Dez Bryant (knee) is expected back in Week 8, following the Cowboy's bye. In his latest absence, Terrance Williams grabbed four balls on five targets for 75 and a score, while Cole Beasley kept the party going with 58 yards and two touchdowns on six catches (six targets). Beasley should remain heavily involved even when Dez returns, but Williams will probably see some variance from week to week.

Detroit Lions

This whole Marvin Jones thing has really been petering out – a touchdown saved his Week 6 from being an abject disaster, but he still only had two catches for 10 yards on six targets. That's now three straight weeks of declining production on the heels of his star turn over the season's first three games. Both Golden Tate (10 targets) and Anquan Boldin (nine) commanded more of Matthew Stafford's attention, and both scored touchdowns of their own to go with much better production – eight catches for 165 yards for Tate, eight for 60 for Boldin.

Green Bay Packers

Besides his duties in the running game, Ty Montgomery also went ahead and excelled as a receiver Sunday, catching 10 passes for 98 yards on 12 targets. He out-targeted both Randall Cobb (11) and Jordy Nelson (seven) and outproduced both. He'll stay involved, but probably won't be this heavily used too often. That said, Cobb is working through a back injury and will continue having his practice reps managed, which means Montgomery will have more opportunities to build a rapport with everyone's favorite disappointing star quarterback, Aaron Rodgers.

Houston Texans

Will Fuller was active Sunday, but his hamstring injury kept him from taking even a single snap. That left Brock Osweiler to, well, mostly throw the ball to DeAndre Hopkins (15 targets) while Braxton Miller (two catches for 13 yards) and Jaelen Strong (a 36-yard grab, but only one other target) served in distantly complementary roles.

Indianapolis Colts

Phillip Dorsett hurt his hamstring in the fourth quarter Sunday and had to depart, which was probably a blessing in a game that saw the Colts' wideouts do next to nothing as a group – a state of affairs exemplified by T.Y. Hilton, who caught only three of his nine targets for 49 yards. Quan Bray, too, left with an injury – he hurt his ankle. Incredibly, Chester Rogers was Indy's leading wideout with four catches on four targets for 63 yards; with his role likely set to increase, he merits a low-bid pickup this week. In better news for the Colts, Donte Moncrief (shoulder) is coming along, although he probably won't be back this week.

Minnesota Vikings

Stefon Diggs (groin) isn't practicing to start this week, suggesting that he may remain seated come Sunday's matchup with the Eagles. Judging by what we've seen, that'd lead to more work for Adam Thielen and Cordarrelle Patterson. Check Diggs' status as the week goes on if you're invested in him.

Philadelphia Eagles

Jordan Matthews picked up a bit of a knee ailment in Sunday's game, but it's unclear how much that'll affect him moving forward. Nelson Agholor, Dorial Green-Beckham and Josh Huff would be the beneficiaries of any extra action, though I'm currently operating on the assumption that Matthews will be good to go in Week 7 for a tough matchup against Minnesota.

Pittsburgh Steelers

With Big Ben getting hurt and the offense running on zero cylinders in general, no Steelers wideout had a good game Sunday. Markus Wheaton (shoulder) sat out and remains uncertain for this week's game against New England. Eli Rogers (toe) got back on the field after missing two games, though he managed just 35 yards on four grabs, while Sammie Coates (hand) didn't catch any of his four targets and honestly shouldn't even have been on the field. The less said about Antonio Brown's game, the better.

San Diego Chargers

Tyrell Williams, Travis Benjamin and Dontrelle Inman all went to the "bust" side of things Sunday against Denver, as the three of them didn't even have a good game if you add their stats together. Better times should be in store against Atlanta this week, though.

Tennessee Titans

Kendall Wright – targeted four times, total, in his two games prior to Week 6 – exploded Sunday, ripping off 133 yards and a touchdown on eight catches (nine targets). Meanwhile, no other Titans wideout was targeted more than three times. The marginalization of former rising star Tajae Sharpe continues (three targets, no catches). Rishard Matthews did great things with his three looks though, catching all of them for 70 yards and a score.

TIGHT END

Cincinnati Bengals

Tyler Eifert's back and ankle issues kept him out again Sunday, and there's no word yet on whether he'll go in Week 7. C.J. Uzomah and Tyler Kroft again didn't do much in Week 6, and there's no reason to expect much from them if Eifert fails to get back to play the Browns this week.

Detroit Lions

With Eric Ebron (knee) out for Week 6, Clay Harbor drew a single target, catching it for three yards, and that was all that the Lions' tight ends had to offer. Ebron's Week 7 status remains unclear.

San Diego Chargers

It just doesn't matter whether Antonio Gates plays anymore – Hunter Henry is clearly the Chargers' top tight end, and he was Philip Rivers' favorite option in the Thursday game, with his six grabs on eight targets for 83 yards and a touchdown representing San Diego's top production in every one of those categories. To be fair, Gates is still feeling the effects of the hamstring ailment that sidelined him earlier this year.

Washington Redskins

With Jordan Reed (concussion) forced to sit out against the Eagles in Week 6, Vernon Davis reminded us that he's still in the league with two catches for 50 yards and a score. However, it sounds like Reed is coming along well and has a reasonable chance to return against Detroit in Week 7.