This article is part of our Depth Chart Watch series.
Cardinals QB - The Cards were saved from starting Logan Thomas in Week 6 by the return of Carson Palmer, who led the team to victory after missing the last three games with a shoulder issue. While he didn't throw a lot of deep balls, Palmer delivered 250 yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers. Seems like he's finally good to go, although there's no guarantee this issue won't crop up again.
Cardinals WR - With the return of Palmer, Larry Fitzgerald showed up Sunday, catching all six of his targets for 98 yards and a touchdown. It's good to see a strong performance from Fitz, who's often been marginalized this season, and it's noteworthy that Michael Floyd saw only one more target, while John Brown had four.
Falcons RB - This Antone Smith stuff is getting a little bit ridiculous. I feel like a broken record, once again writing about this guy getting minimal touches (just six) and yet still breaking yet another long play for a touchdown - this time a 41-yard catch. It's promising that the Falcons threw him the ball a season-high four times - clearly they see what we're all seeing. Smith has broken five touchdown runs (all 38 yards or longer) on just 23 touches this year. No Atlanta player did much on the ground, though, with the team playing from behind practically the whole game. As usual, Steven Jackson was the lead back, but that added up to just six carries and a pair of fruitless pass targets.
Falcons WR - Devin Hester was a popular pickup for Week 6 with the expectation that he'd see No. 3 receiver touches, but that didn't materialize - he was targeted just once and didn't get to run the ball at all. In an inefficient Matt Ryan outing, no receiver accumulated much production, with Julio Jones' four catches and 67 yards on 12 targets exemplifying the way things went Sunday.
Ravens RB - There's no getting around it - Justin Forsett has simply been awesome this year. He ripped off 111 yards on 14 rushes Sunday, and was only out-touched by Bernard Pierce (15 carries, 32 yards and a touchdown) because the Ravens ran up 48 points on the hapless Buccaneers. Lorenzo Taliaferro was barely used (two rushes, two catches), though he had a nice 25-yard run.
Ravens WR - Well, one week after returning to earth, Steve Smith blasted right off back into space in Week 6, catching five balls for 110 yards and a score. He was again the team's most-targeted receiver, although Torrey Smith did his share of damage, catching a pair of touchdowns among his four catches. It was interesting to see rookie seventh-round pick Michael Campanaro get involved in the action, catching two balls, including a 19-yard touchdown.
Bills RB - Yes, I'm starting to get to the point of giving up on C.J. Spiller, who generated negative fantasy points in most formats Sunday, carrying six times for 19 yards and a lost fumble. Fred Jackson's share of the touches continues to grow - he carried 10 times and was targeted in the pass game another six times to Spiller's one. I still don't recommend cutting Spiller, but it's worth noting that even Anthony Dixon had more carries (seven).
Bills WR - With Sammy Watkins getting blanketed by Darrelle Revis, Robert Woods was unsurprisingly the most-used receiver Sunday, turning 10 targets into seven catches and 78 yards. Chris Hogan also burst onto the scene, as he was suddenly targeted six times, catching five for 72 yards and a score.
Panthers RB - Fozzy Whittaker and Darrin Reaves accounted for the Panthers' rushing attack in Week 6, which you should take to mean that the Panthers didn't have much of a rushing attack outside of Cam Newton, who carried as many times as Whittaker and Reaves combined and was far more productive. There's no word on when DeAngelo Williams (ankle) or Jonathan Stewart (knee) will be able to return to the role of leading unproductive back in this offense.
Bengals RB - Giovani Bernard hurt his shoulder on Sunday, but was able to return to the game and thus seems as though he'll be good to go in Week 7 against Indy. Jeremy Hill got a few extra touches due to the injury and ended up contributing a touchdown.
Bengals WR - Mohamed Sanu took care of business as the No. 1 receiver with A.J. Green (toe) out on Sunday, reeling in 10 catches for 120 yards and a score. The guy is having a pretty nice year so far, though of course it helped that he was basically the only option in Week 6 with Green and Marvin Jones (foot) inactive. Green doesn't expect to play in Week 7, and Jones is certainly rather questionable. Brandon Tate and Dane Sanzenbacher, promoted to No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, each saw five targets, which is worth noting for those in deeper formats.
Browns RB - The Browns rather surprisingly made Terrance West inactive Sunday, electing to go with Ben Tate as the main back and Isaiah Crowell as his change of pace. It sounds like the team wants West to work on his blocking, as his rushing has been pretty solid (4.4 YPC). Of course, Crowell, who rushed 11 times for 77 yards and a score, has often looked pretty electric. Tate carried 25 times, and no Browns back was targeted in the pass game. Well, hey, it worked.
Browns WR - Brian Hoyer completed eight passes on Sunday, and the team scored 31 points. So that's interesting. Half of those completions, well over half of Hoyer's passing yards and his touchdown went to tight ends, leaving little fruit for Andrew Hawkins (no catches on two targets), Travis Benjamin (one target, one catch, 31 yards) and Miles Austin (three targets, two catches, 29 yards). Things will probably even out in the future.
Browns TE - Jordan Cameron was the only producer in the Browns' passing game Sunday, reclaiming his role as the team's top target. Jim Dray was targeted just once (but did make 31 yards out of it).
Broncos RB - As it turns out, the Broncos did feed the ball to Ronnie Hillman all game long Sunday - 24 times, plus another five pass targets. Juwan Thompson was strong in a change-of-pace role (4.8 YPC on eight carries), while C.J. Anderson didn't see any work despite being active.
Broncos WR - You'd figure Wes Welker would tear up the Jets, but he was targeted just one time in Week 6, catching an eight-yard pass. Demaryius Thomas dominated Peyton Manning's attention, catching 10 of 12 balls for 124 yards and a touchdown - his second straight huge week out of the bye.
Lions RB - Reggie Bush (ankle) sat out Sunday, though he seems quite confident he'll return in Week 7. In his place, Joique Bell carried 18 times for 74 yards and a score, though he curiously continued to remain quiet in the pass game (two catches, 23 yards). Theo Riddick saw just three carries, but led the team in receiving, catching five passes for 75 yards and a score, while George Winn didn't do much with his five carries. Unfortunately, Riddick seems to have aggravated the hamstring issue that had been bothering him; that could cause him to miss some time, further complicating this injury-prone backfield.
Lions WR - With Calvin Johnson sitting out in Week 6, Golden Tate was oft targeted, but he didn't do much with his dozen targets - seven catches for 44 yards. The only other wideouts targeted by Matt Stafford were Corey Fuller and Jeremy Ross, and neither of them produced anything vaguely resembling fantasy value.
Packers RB - With the Packers driving for the game-winning touchdown Sunday, it was James Starks, not Eddie Lacy, who was in the backfield, but Lacy still had 14 carries to Starks' eight. Neither back was all that productive, but Starks showed a little more burst. Things were pointing way up for Lacy last week, but this disappointing performance has me nervous. The good news is, you can apparently run all over the Carolina defense, which is coming up in Week 7.
Texans WR - DeAndre Hopkins was targeted a season-low two times on Thursday night, catching just one ball for 12 yards. Meanwhile, Damaris Johnson was targeted thrice, catching all three for 62 yards. Johnson's role seems to be steadily growing, but you wouldn't think that it should be entirely at Hopkins' expense.
Colts RB - Trent Richardson retook the bigger end of the timeshare Thursday, and though neither he nor Bradshaw produced very strong yardage, T-Rich punched in a five-yard touchdown run and Bradshaw caught a five-yard touchdown pass. Those occasional scores are the only things preserving these guys' fantasy value at all.
Colts TE - While Dwayne Allen was more heavily targeted than Coby Fleener on Thursday (seven to four), Fleener's touchdown catch ended up making his 11-yard evening more valuable than Allen's 49 yards of production. Nonetheless, it's worth noting that Allen fairly consistently draws the majority share of the Colts' TE targets.
Jaguars RB - Toby Gerhart (foot) was blissfully inactive Sunday, leaving the majority of the carries to rookie Storm Johnson, who didn't do much with them outside of a one-yard TD plunge. He rushed 10 times for 21 yards; Denard Robinson saw five carries and made 22 yards out of them, for what it's worth, and Jordan Todman rushed just three times. It's certainly not entirely Gerhart's fault that his numbers have been so bad - no Jags rusher seems to be able to generate much behind that line.
Jaguars WR - Cecil Shorts was the apple of Blake Bortles' eye in his return on Sunday, catching 10 of 16 passes for 103 yards, but he also lost a fumble, limiting his non-PPR value considerably. But hey, it's a strong game nonetheless, and it largely came at the expense of Allen Hurns, who was targeted just four times. Allen Robinson, meanwhile, continued seeing consistent work, reeling in eight of nine targets for 68 yards. Marqise Lee (hamstring) was back in, but played only a limited role, catching two passes for 26 yards. With how well he's played, it's possible Robinson won't cede No. 2 duties to Lee, as had been expected.
Dolphins RB - Knowshon Moreno (elbow) got healthy all of a sudden and was able to play in Week 6, but clearly wasn't all the way back, as he totaled just 10 yards on six carries. While Lamar Miller held onto the lion's share of the workload in this one and was reasonably productive (93 total yards, a touchdown and a lost fumble), it should be expected that as Moreno feels better, he'll carve out a heftier share of the load and eventually return to seeing around 20 carries in most games.
Dolphins WR - Jarvis Landry is becoming a noteworthy piece in this offense, and he had a very nice game against Green Bay on Sunday, catching a team-high six passes for 75 yards and a touchdown. Landry and Mike Wallace were the only Miami wideouts to be targeted more than twice. Brian Hartline was the one who was targeted twice, and he was invisible, failing to catch a pass. Landry's been very efficient this year, and it could be he's leapfrogged the unexciting Hartline for the No. 2 role.
Vikings QB - Teddy Bridgewater did his best Christian Ponder impression Sunday against the Lions, returning from his ankle injury to get sacked eight times and throw a trio of interceptions. Harsh. But at least he came out of the game without aggravating the injury, and it'd be unsurprising to see him bounce back against the much more generous Bills defense in Week 7. And, hey, Bridgewater would need to throw about 500 interceptions to lose his job to Ponder at this point.
Vikings RB - Jerick McKinnon led the Vikings' anemic offense in both rushing and receiving on Sunday, although that only resulted in a total of 82 yards. The Vikes finally decided to marginalize Matt Asiata (groin), and they saw some good flashes from McKinnon, which should keep him where he belongs - atop this depth chart.
Vikings WR - I swear, the universe is conspiring against Cordarrelle Patterson, who led the Vikes in targets with eight, but caught just two balls for 15 yards and rushed just once for two yards. His hip injury seems to still be sapping him of his explosiveness, but if he can get over that ailment, I think he'll be a "surprising" second-half contributor.
Patriots RB - While Stevan Ridley didn't turn in a very nice fantasy line, he still led the Pats in carries Sunday, rushing 10 times for 23 yards. Brandon Bolden and Shane Vereen, meanwhile, combined to rush 11 times for 14 yards. Awesome. It's curious to see Bolden get so much work - this was his highest touch total of the year.
Patriots WR - It's been a roller-coaster season so far for Brandon LaFell, who's turned in two huge games and four total duds. Sunday was one of the huge ones, as he picked up 97 yards and two touchdowns, but past performance is no guarantee of future results. Danny Amendola was totally invisible, as usual; at this point, LaFell is the de facto No. 2 receiver behind Julian Edelman.
Patriots TE - Tim Wright followed up his Week 5 breakout by being targeted just once Sunday, but at least he made it count, tallying a one-yard touchdown. Obviously, Rob Gronkowski is the top dog here, but with the Pats unlikely to count on LaFell consistently producing, there's room here for two tight ends to thrive. And clearly Tom Brady feels comfortable going to Wright at important moments.
Saints RB - Mark Ingram (hand) is planning to return in Week 7 against the Lions, but that's a situation that'll have to be clarified in practice this week. If he does return, it means a big downgrade for Khiry Robinson, but Pierre Thomas's value as a PPR back shouldn't change much.
Saints TE - The latest word is that Jimmy Graham's shoulder ailment could cost him as much as three weeks of game action, meaning he could very well be out until Week 9 or 10. Josh Hill, who's shown nice flashes as a pass-catcher this year, would likely be the greatest beneficiary of Graham's absence.
Giants RB - Well, the Giants got trucked by the Eagles on Sunday night, which didn't help the case of Andre Williams in his first NFL start. He had a fairly quiet 58 yards on 16 carries and was typically removed on passing downs, with Peyton Hillis seeing work in his place. The Giants don't seem to trust Williams as an every-down back yet, as he's still limited as a blocker. But that doesn't mean Hillis has a particularly fantasy-relevant role. Rashad Jennings doesn't seem likely to return in a hurry, so Williams appears to have a couple weeks to make his case for a bigger role upon the veteran's return.
Giants WR - Victor Cruz tore his patella tendon Sunday night, ending a season in which he repeatedly let down his fantasy owners. With Cruz gone, Rueben Randle easily saw the most targets, and that should persist going forward, with Odell Beckham also occupying an enlarged role in the offense.
Giants TE - Somehow, Larry Donnell went from three-touchdown stud in Week 4 to useless dud over the last two weeks, as he followed up his zero-catch game against Atlanta by nabbing one ball for six yards on Sunday against the Eagles. Meanwhile, Daniel Fells saw his role grow a little, as he caught two passes for 40 yards, but also lost a fumble. Adrien Robinson, too, was targeted twice. I still believe in Donnell, but this situation has gotten a lot more complicated for no apparent reason.
Jets RB - The downward spiral of the Jets' running game continued Sunday against Denver, with Chris Ivory, Chris Johnson and Bilal Powell combining to carry 13 times for 20 yards. Ouch. Geno Smith (two carries for 11 yards) actually led the team in rushing yardage. Seriously. This is a situation to avoid like the plague at this point.
Jets WR - Eric Decker (hamstring) was back in the fold in Week 6, catching six balls for 54 yards and a touchdown. Jeremy Kerley was, as you'd expect, the second-most-targeted wideout, but he caught just one of seven passes for four yards. Another situation to avoid outside of Decker.
Jets TE - While the wide receivers struggled, Jace Amaro continued his emergence Sunday, setting new personal bests with 10 catches on 12 targets for 68 yards and his first touchdown. Amaro's steadily been developing into a featured cog in the Jets' offense simply by virtue of there being no one else but Decker on this team who can get open and catch the ball consistently.
Raiders QB - Derek Carr (ankle/knee) was back out there in Week 6, and he stunned everyone by busting out a 282-yard, four-touchdown effort in a loss to the Chargers. Good for the ol' job security with Matt Schaub waiting in the wings.
Raiders RB - Darren McFadden continued clinging to the top role here on Sunday, rushing 14 times for 80 yards while Maurice Jones-Drew carried just four times (but hey, he made 30 yards of it). MJD's role should get back to at least a 50-50 timeshare in due course, though, as McFadden hasn't proven capable of sustained success in a long time.
Raiders WR - Andre Holmes blew up for 121 yards and two scores Sunday, with a first-minute 77-yard touchdown accounting for much of that damage. He also was the team's most frequently targeted receiver, with eight passes thrown his way against James Jones' seven. Jones also produced a fantasy-relevant day - as did the unheralded Brice Butler, who ended up with three catches for 64 yards and a score. Carr only looked Denarius Moore's way one time.
Eagles WR - Jeremy Maclin was oddly ignored Sunday night, with just three targets, while Riley Cooper (seven targets) and Jordan Matthews (six) picked up the slack. Expect Maclin - who garnered double-digit targets in each of the season's first five games - to pick things back up next week.
Eagles TE - Zach Ertz and Brent Celek split the targets evenly Sunday night, but Ertz ended up with two more yards and a touchdown. Just think of how nice a fantasy outing he would have had if not for Celek taking up his snaps.
Steelers WR - Markus Wheaton's targets rebounded to a season-high 11 on Sunday, but he only corralled four of them for 33 yards - not impressive. While Antonio Brown was his typically excellent self, No. 3 man Lance Moore caught just one of his six targets, though he still seems to be holding off Justin Brown for that job.
Chargers RB - Branden Oliver delivered his second consecutive big game Sunday, carrying 26 times for 101 yards and a score, and tacking on four catches for another 23 yards. This guy is gonna be one of the pickups of the year; Ryan Mathews (knee) still isn't running, while Donald Brown (concussion), the recently signed Ronnie Brown and Shaun Draughn are no threat, considering what Oliver has shown.
Chargers WR - Malcolm Floyd's calf looked quite alright in Week 6, as he threw down a five-catch, 103-yard, touchdown-scoring day. Once again, Keenan Allen saw a decent share of targets, but didn't do much with them, and it really feels like Floyd and Eddie Royal are both at least in the process of moving ahead of him on the pecking order.
Chargers TE - Both tight ends turned in respectable outings Thursday, with Antonio Gates grabbing a touchdown to go with his 27 yards and Ladarius Green turning in four catches for 60 yards. Gates was targeted a team-high eight times, so even though it was a relatively slow day, he remains a big part of this offense from week to week.
49ers WR - It'll be interesting to see what Brandon Lloyd does Monday night against St. Louis, where he spent a portion of the 2011 season. Lloyd's role in the offense has been increasing of late, while Michael Crabtree has been relatively quiet. While Steve Johnson is generally listed ahead of him, it sure looks like Lloyd has moved up to the No. 3 role.
49ers TE - Vernon Davis (back) is questionable, but expected to play Monday night. If he can't go, the role will fall to Derek Carrier and the now-healthy Vance McDonald.
Rams RB - Monday night should go a long way toward clarifying the situation between Zac Stacy and Benny Cunningham, as Cunningham has been carving out a bigger and bigger role while Stacy's largely looked quite mediocre.
Buccaneers RB - Doug Martin and Bobby Rainey both found some decent running room Sunday, but they only carried 11 and eight times, respectively, with the Bucs spending the entire game in a deep hole. It's worth noting that Rainey didn't secure any of his three pass targets, which won't exactly make the city of Tampa cry for him to have a bigger role.
Buccaneers WR - Mike Evans (groin) and Vincent Jackson (ribs) both ended up playing Sunday, but the best production came from Louis Murphy, who caught a team-high seven passes for 72 yards and a touchdown. Yet again, Jackson was horrendously inefficient with his targets, as he caught just four of 13, putting him at 25 catches on 60 passes for the season. By comparison, Evans has now caught 21 balls on 35 targets this year, and yet was out-targeted by both Jackson and Murphy in this one.
Buccaneers TE - Austin Seferian-Jenkins set new personal bests (not that he's played too many games) with four catches for 58 yards Sunday against the Ravens. Brandon Myers did reel in his two targets for 29 yards, making fantasy owners hurt with the knowledge that Seferian-Jenkins would be a terrific fantasy tight end if only Myers were out of the way.
Titans QB - Jake Locker (thumb) had to sit out Sunday, leaving Charlie Whitehurst to lead the Titans to a rip-roaring 16-14 victory over Jacksonville, which is probably the most exciting thing ever. (Yay.) Locker couldn't practice all week, so he's no, um, lock to return in Week 7 against the Redskins.
Titans RBShonn Greene finally sat out with the injury we've all known was coming - a hamstring this time - leaving Bishop Sankey to handle the rushing load Sunday. The results, though, were not special, as Sankey gained just 61 yards on 18 carries against the typically generous Jags defense. Meanwhile, Dexter McCluster handled the passing-game duties, collecting all six of his targets for 52 yards, though he got just two carries. It doesn't sound like Greene has made great progress in practice, so it's quite conceivable he could be out again this week.
Titans WR - Justin Hunter again was the man in the Tennessee passing game this week, leading the team with 77 yards. Kendall Wright, meanwhile, was stunningly near-totally silenced - he caught one whole pass for six yards. Nate Washington (two for 23) wasn't too impressive either.
Redskins QB - The overly optimistic-sounding report of Robert Griffin potentially being available for Week 8 sounds like it was just that, as coach Jay Gruden said last week that Griffin isn't expected to return anytime soon. Sally forth, Kirk Cousins!
Redskins TE - Jordan Reed made a big return Sunday, leading the team in targets (11) and catches (eight) while collecting 92 yards after missing four weeks with a hamstring injury. That predictably pushed Niles Paul to a backup role, and he can be safely dropped from most fantasy rosters.
