Depth Chart Watch: RG3 Leaves Owners Empty

Depth Chart Watch: RG3 Leaves Owners Empty

This article is part of our Depth Chart Watch series.

BILLS WR: Donald Jones came back last week, but had had a setback with his calf injury and missed Sunday's loss to Seattle. T.J. Graham was back in the starting lineup and finished with three catches for 32 yards. The Buffalo passing game hasn't been too successful this year, so neither wideout is much of a fantasy factor even when they're healthy.

CARDINALS QB:
Ryan Lindley got his job back only because nothing could be worse than what John Skelton did last week. Somehow Lindley "led" the Cardinals to a 38-10 victory over the Lions despite throwing for just 104 yards on 21 pass attempts. Turnovers had more to do with the point total than anything Lindley did, but he probably earned the another start with the effort.

CHARGERS RB:
Ryan Mathews is done for the year after breaking his left clavicle Sunday, ending a disappointing season a couple of weeks early. With Ronnie Brown already inactive with a hamstring injury, Curtis Brinkley got first crack at Mathews' carries, running six times for 42 yards. Jackie Battle didn't do much in his two totes (just two yards), and assuming Brown returns next week, he might be the one who starts as the season winds down.

CHIEFS WR:
Dwayne Bowe (ribs) was placed on IR on Saturday, ending his season prematurely. The Chiefs responded by laying an egg Sunday, gaining only 119 yards of total offense. Jon Baldwin didn't exactly take advantage of the situation, as he was shut out on

BILLS WR: Donald Jones came back last week, but had had a setback with his calf injury and missed Sunday's loss to Seattle. T.J. Graham was back in the starting lineup and finished with three catches for 32 yards. The Buffalo passing game hasn't been too successful this year, so neither wideout is much of a fantasy factor even when they're healthy.

CARDINALS QB:
Ryan Lindley got his job back only because nothing could be worse than what John Skelton did last week. Somehow Lindley "led" the Cardinals to a 38-10 victory over the Lions despite throwing for just 104 yards on 21 pass attempts. Turnovers had more to do with the point total than anything Lindley did, but he probably earned the another start with the effort.

CHARGERS RB:
Ryan Mathews is done for the year after breaking his left clavicle Sunday, ending a disappointing season a couple of weeks early. With Ronnie Brown already inactive with a hamstring injury, Curtis Brinkley got first crack at Mathews' carries, running six times for 42 yards. Jackie Battle didn't do much in his two totes (just two yards), and assuming Brown returns next week, he might be the one who starts as the season winds down.

CHIEFS WR:
Dwayne Bowe (ribs) was placed on IR on Saturday, ending his season prematurely. The Chiefs responded by laying an egg Sunday, gaining only 119 yards of total offense. Jon Baldwin didn't exactly take advantage of the situation, as he was shut out on four targets, but Dexter McCluster at least caught seven passes for 59 yards. If Sunday is any indication, he'll be the No. 1 receiver the rest of the way. Also, if Sunday is any indication, the Chiefs don't have an offense, so it really doesn't matter if he's No. 1.

DOLPHINS WR:
With Davone Bess out with a back injury, Marlon Moore saw a rare start Sunday. He was targeted twice - catching both passes for 33 yards - and Rishard Matthews (three catches for 23 yards) also saw an uptick in action. Brian Hartline caught five passes for 77 yards, as his monster Week 4 performance looks like a significant outlier and not a sign of good things to come.

EAGLES TE:
Clay Harbor filled in for Brent Celek on Thursday when Celek missed the game recovering from last week's concussion. Harbor was playing through back spasms Thursday and caught three passes for 30 yards but also lost a fumble. With only a couple of weeks left and the Eagles pretty much done, we might have seen the last of Celek this season.

49ERS WR:
Randy Moss started in place of the injured Mario Manningham on Sunday and pulled down his first touchdown in seven weeks. He's obviously not the Randy Moss of old, but he can still score a touchdown when given the chance, like he was against the Patriots on Sunday. Still, it's looking more and more like Michael Crabtree is the 49ers wideout to own in this and the next several seasons, as he scored twice Sunday.

GIANTS RB:
Fresh off a breakout game last week, David Wilson got his first start Sunday when Ahmad Bradshaw sat out the Falcons game with a bum knee. Unfortunately, things didn't go as well for Wilson and the Giants this time around, as Wilson finished with 55 yards (on a respectable 4.6 YPC) on the ground in a 34-0 loss. Kregg Lumpkin, who has only been with the Giants for three weeks, had 42 yards on nine carries. With Andre Brown already done for the year and Bradshaw ailing nearly every week this season, we might see more of Wilson and Lumpkin as the season winds down.

JAGUARS WR:
Although we expected Cecil Shorts to be a bit gun-shy in his return from a concussion injury, the Jaguars targeted him early and often, and he led the team with six catches for 101 yards. Justin Blackmon also enjoyed the return of his running mate, as he added six catches for 93 yards. Unfortunately, the Jaguars couldn't muster up any other offense against the Dolphins. Kevin Elliott, last week's starter, was waived once it became obvious that Shorts was going to be ready this week. Elliott made some key drops in last week's loss, so he went from the starting lineup to the doghouse to the waiver wire in just five short days.

LIONS TE:
Tony Scheffler was targeted seven times (second on the team to that one wide receiver the Lions have) as Brandon Pettigrew missed Sunday's game with an ankle injury. Scheffler pulled down three catches for the third week in a row, and regardless of whether he starts again next week, figure on another three catches then.

RAMS WR:
Danny Amendola made his presence felt in his return from a two-game absence Sunday, as he was targeted a team-high 12 times and hauled in six receptions (including a six-yard score) for 58 yards. Chris Givens, with one catches for 22 yards, went back to fantasy irrelevancy.

RAVENS WR:
Torrey Smith became the latest wideout to suffer a concussion Sunday as he tried to make a nice sideline catch. He finished with just one catch for 14 yards while fellow starter Anquan Boldin was shut out completely. The Ravens still have plenty to play for, but they need their receivers to step up, especially if Smith is sidelined in Week 16. Jacoby Jones and Tandon Doss are next in line behind Smith and Boldin.

REDSKINS QB:
The loss of Robert Griffin III in Week 15 has to rank as one of the biggest fantasy stories of the year. He probably didn't command a high draft pick, but the lucky owner who snagged Griffin this year likely had a strong team ... and then he had to roll with Jay Cutler or Carson Palmer or something in the fantasy playoffs. Griffin has a sprained LCL in his knee, and the Redskins decided to play it safe with their star, even though there was some speculation that he would be able to play Sunday. Fellow rookie Kirk Cousins wasn't bad in Griffin's place - he threw for 329 yards as the Skins scored 38 points Sunday.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kenn Ruby
Kenn has been writing and editing for RotoWire since 2003. Though he attended Northwestern with the co-founders of RotoWire, he is not considered a made member of the RotoWire Northwestern mafia, as he can't trace back all of his ancestors to Dan Okrent.
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