Depth Chart Watch: Fallout From Week 12

Man, doesn't time fly during football season? It seems like just yesterday that I spent $15 in an auction league on Josh Gordon (sigh) and zero on Adrian Peterson (thank god). All of a sudden, Halloween and Thanksgiving are behind us, and Christmas isn't just peeking over the horizon – it's practically staring us in the face. But let's focus on the present, as most fantasy owners have two more weeks to make or break their playoff hopes. A fresh roundup of depth-chart movement should help in that vein, so let's get into it.

QUARTERBACK

Chicago Bears

Matt Barkley actually threw for 316 yards and three touchdowns Sunday, which should blow your mind, but he also needed 54 attempts to do that and tossed a pair of interceptions, so let's not get too crazy with the praise. Jay Cutler (shoulder) remains without a timetable for his return, but he only got listed as doubtful in Week 12, not out, so that's something. I'd tell you to bet against a repeat performance from Barkley, but the Niners offer a pretty soft target for Week 13.

Cleveland Browns

Week 13 is shaping up to be the Browns' first without a loss – because it's their bye week. Josh McCown's return to starting duties went pretty normally by Cleveland standards, as he threw for 322 yards, but was sacked seven times and lost a pair of fumbles. Meanwhile, Robert Griffin (shoulder) could be cleared for contact quite soon, and coach Hue Jackson hasn't named a starter for Week 14 yet.

Indianapolis Colts

Starting Scott Tolzien against Pittsburgh on Thursday worked out about as well as you'd expect it to, which is to say that the Colts scored seven points. Tolzien wasn't entirely awful, as his 22-for-36 passing could certainly have been worse, but he threw just the one touchdown and was picked off twice. No controversy here – not that you were expecting one. Andrew Luck may clear the concussion protocol as soon as Wednesday, and he should be expected to return for the Monday night game against the Jets.

RUNNING BACK

Atlanta Falcons

Tevin Coleman made a very quiet return from his hamstring injury Sunday, taking eight carries for nine yards and two catches for four yards. A short touchdown plunge ensured his day wasn't a total disaster, but it certainly wasn't inspiring. Of course, it was Coleman's first game back and Arizona's got a strong D-line, so we can cut the guy a break. After all, Devonta Freeman wouldn't have had much of a game himself if not for converting on a pair of red-zone rushes; he picked up a modest 77 total yards on 18 touches.

Baltimore Ravens

Kenneth Dixon and Terrance West perfectly split the workload Sunday, as both carried 13 times and were targeted four times. The results were a bit better for Dixon – he outrushed West by a single yard, 49-48, widening that difference with 31 receiving yards to his compatriot's 16. He's steadily making moves on claiming that No. 1 role, but it's still a process right now, so expect West to continue getting worked in unless the Ravens say otherwise.

Buffalo Bills

LeSean McCoy's early-week thumb surgery apparently wasn't much of a bother, as he dominated the backfield touches Sunday against Jacksonville, racking up 103 yards and two touchdowns on 19 rushes. He even finished second on the team with 31 receiving yards (which may be more of an indictment of the Buffalo passing game than anything else), reeling in both balls thrown his way. As it turned out, it was Mike Gillislee, not McCoy, who was unable to suit up, with a hamstring injury holding the talented backup out of action. He's expected back for this week, though.

Cincinnati Bengals

The first game of the post-Giovani Bernard (knee) segment of the season went predictably poorly against the Ravens' league-best run defense, as Jeremy Hill's 12 carries turned into only 21 yards Sunday, although he salvaged his day to some degree with six catches on six targets for another 61 – a promising sign that the bruising back will see passing-game work despite Rex Burkhead's addition to the mix. For what it's worth, Burkhead was a much more efficient runner on his five carries, gaining 29 yards to go with another 19 on two receptions (two targets). It doesn't get a whole lot easier in Week 13 against the Eagles, who have also shown off a strong run D.

Green Bay Packers

Christine Michael's split of the rushing work amounted to just a single four-yard carry Monday night even though James Starks was horribly ineffective, gaining only 41 yards on 17 rushes. At least for the time being, it looks like Starks' supremacy will go unchallenged here, which is... odd, to say the least, considering he doesn't have a great history of success as a lead back.

Jacksonville Jaguars

T.J. Yeldon (ankle) came through Sunday's game healthy enough, but he was limited in his usage, managing only 20 total yards on seven touches. Meanwhile, Chris Ivory came down with a hamstring strain. That led to a big workload for Denard Robinson, who led this backfield in touches with 13 rushes, but produced only 39 yards. Cue the sad trombone.

New Orleans Saints

Mark Ingram zoomed through the concussion protocol and then right through the Rams' defense Sunday, racking up a sick 146 yards (and a score) on 14 rushes, plus a 21-yard touchdown catch. Tim Hightower got plenty of work too, as he actually had more carries (15) but posted much worse results (51 yards) than Ingram. However, Hightower made bacon for his fantasy owners by complementing that with two receptions for 51 and a touchdown.

Philadelphia Eagles

With Ryan Mathews (knee) sitting out Monday night, we got to enjoy some clarity in this situation, but not much in the way of performance – with the Eagles forced into a pass-heavy game plan, Wendell Smallwood carried nine times for a pretty modest 37 yards, adding a 10-yard catch. As is his wont, Darren Sproles did most of his work in the passing game (seven targets, five catches, 48 yards), but he got nothing done on the ground (three carries, six yards). Mathews' status for Week 13 is unclear, but even if the veteran returns, Smallwood should still enjoy a reasonably sized role and Sproles should still do his thing as a receiver.

Seattle Seahawks

Thomas Rawls wasn't much good in Tampa on Sunday, going for just 38 yards on a dozen carries and failing to catch his only target. The Seahawks' other backs saw almost no use though, with wide receiver George Farmer getting the second-most snaps (17) and only one touch (a four-yard catch on one of two targets). Alex Collins got only six snaps, so it looks like he's not even beating out Farmer for the backup role. From the sound of it, Troymaine Pope (ankle) may return in Week 13 to claim those duties and maybe even steal some carries from Rawls.

WIDE RECEIVER

Arizona Cardinals

John Brown left Sunday's game with a hamstring ailment, which you'd think would have led to a big target total for Larry Fitzgerald or Michael Floyd, or both, but no. Somehow, those two combined for only nine targets among Carson Palmer's 45 pass attempts. At this point, Brown is a fringe fantasy asset at best, Fitzgerald is best used in PPR (usually), and Floyd is one of the NFL's most disappointing players.

Buffalo Bills

The Bills finally got Sammy Watkins (foot) back on the field Sunday, and he impressed on those few occasions they utilized him. Although he was eased back with only 25 snaps and three targets, he caught all three for a team-leading (by far) 81 yards. We all know that he can be a star when 100 percent, but his general inability to stay healthy in combination with Tyrod Taylor's mediocrity has made Watkins an unreliable fantasy asset, so approach him with cautious optimism at best down the stretch. That said, at least he made it through Sunday's game with no setbacks. Marquise Goodwin was the only other Bills wideout to see multiple targets – four, to be precise – and he had a useless game, catching two passes for 13 yards. Robert Woods (knee) sat out and is far from guaranteed to return in Week 13.

Chicago Bears

With the Bears playing from behind throughout the second half Sunday, Marquess Wilson blew up for eight catches on 11 targets for 125 yards and a touchdown. Yes, he did that with the aforementioned Barkley at quarterback. Cameron Meredith picked up nine targets of his own, but only caught two for 19 yards; Deonte Thompson did better with his nine, catching five for 44 yards and a touchdown. Alshon Jeffery's got two more games left on his suspension.

Cincinnati Bengals

Unsurprisingly, the biggest beneficiary of A.J. Green's injury in Week 12 was tight end Tyler Eifert, who led the team in targets with 11. However, Tyler Boyd saw significant use as well, corralling five of nine targets for 62 yards. Brandon LaFell saw that same pleasantly high target total, but he managed only three catches for 38 yards. Green's still expected to return from his hamstring issue sometime this season, but don't expect that to happen in the next couple weeks.

Indianapolis Colts

T.Y. Hilton had to leave Thursday's game with a back issue, but coach Chuck Pagano reportedly thinks he has a good shot to suit up in Week 13. If he doesn't return or is limited though, it'd be a boost for Donte Moncrief, who's caught touchdowns in four straight weeks (yes, even one from Tolzien) since returning from his own injury.

Kansas City Chiefs

Another game without Jeremy Maclin (groin) led to a big bust-out for Tyreek Hill, who led all Chiefs not named Travis Kelce with 10 targets, nine catches (actually, that was more than Kelce) and 52 yards. He also served up touchdowns three ways – by reception, rush and kick return. Nice. Maclin's status for Week 13 remains cloudy, but Hill clearly has a big role now regardless, with depth guys Chris Conley and Albert Wilson more likely to cede snaps and targets upon the veteran's return.

Minnesota Vikings

Stefon Diggs was out of the lineup again Thursday with a knee injury, allowing Adam Thielen to draw a team-leading 11 targets, which he converted into eight catches for 53 yards. Cordarrelle Patterson managed to gain only 15 yards on five receptions, as the Vikes didn't do a good job giving him space along with the ball. Throw downfield to the guy, will you? Diggs was back at practice Monday, creating optimism that he'll be available for another Thursday game in Week 13.

New England Patriots

Chris Hogan (back) returned for Sunday's game against the Jets, catching four of five targets for 70 yards, but the real stars of the show were Julian Edelman (eight for 83 on 11 targets, so the usual) and Malcolm Mitchell (five catches for 42 yards and two scores on seven targets). Edelman's a safe PPR play, but the others come with a lot of variance in their results.

New Orleans Saints

The Saints scored 49 points Sunday, and somehow Brandin Cooks wasn't even targeted once, representing a stunning departure from the norm – he'd been targeted between six and nine times in all but one of the season's first 10 games. Meanwhile, Michael Thomas exploded for nine catches on 10 targets for 108 yards and two scores, while Willie Snead at least got some use, catching five of seven passes thrown his way for 38 yards.

Philadelphia Eagles

Frustrated with Nelson Agholor's lack of productivity as well as his reported troubles with the game's mental side, the Eagles deactivated him for Monday night's tilt with Green Bay. That led to a season-high 10 targets for Dorial Green-Beckham, but after a promising start on the first drive, he stagnated for the remainder of the game, ending up with six catches for 82 yards – although those numbers represent season bests for him as well. Jordan Matthews was targeted only four times, though he caught all four for 47 yards; he left the game twice with an injury to his right ankle, and it's unclear how that might affect his availability moving forward. Bryce Treggs was supposed to start alongside him, but he ended up with only three targets and an 11-yard reception.

San Diego Chargers

A massive target load for Tyrell Williams (14!) didn't turn into a huge game Sunday, but he still caught a touchdown among his six grabs for 70 yards, so his fantasy owners aren't in position to complain. (He did pick up a shoulder issue, but it's reportedly minor.) Dontrelle Inman saw not even half as many targets (six), but he caught all of them for a team-leading 119 yards and a touchdown of his own, continuing his boom-or-bust campaign. Travis Benjamin (knee) caught just a lonely eight-yard pass on two targets in his return, but will likely be worked in more heavily moving forward.

TIGHT END

New England Patriots

Rob Gronkowski returned from his chest injury Sunday against the Jets, but took only seven snaps and didn't catch a single pass before departing with a back issue. Martellus Bennett's work didn't increase much for it – he caught three passes on five targets for 22 whole yards, continuing his disappointing lack of fantasy reliability during Gronk's absences. He also missed some snaps with his ongoing ankle issue.

New Orleans Saints

Josh Hill owned only 72 total yards for the season entering Week 12, but he more than doubled that against the Rams, catching all six passes thrown his way for 74 yards. Meanwhile, Coby Fleener caught all four of his own for 59. The snaps broke down rather startlingly, with Hill taking 58 to Fleener's season-low 18, so this situation suddenly bears monitoring moving forward.

San Diego Chargers

In this confusing and frustrating situation for fantasy owners, Week 12 saw a curious plot twist. The recipient of a touchdown pass for three straight weeks coming in, a healthy Antonio Gates didn't receive a single target Sunday even though he led Chargers tight ends in snaps (36). Hunter Henry saw only three targets of his own, totaling 20 yards on two catches, but he caught a touchdown to regain some fantasy relevance. I know I'm supposed to be the one watching the depth charts, but don't ask me how this breaks out moving forward – the variance here over the course of the season has been extreme and totally unpredictable.

Washington Redskins

In a high-volume effort by the Skins' passing game, Jordan Reed exploded for 10 catches (12 targets), 95 yards and two touchdowns, and Vernon Davis found a bit of value too – he caught five of seven passes thrown his way for 68 yards. That's a welcome change of pace from the prior week's zero-catch effort, but it's clear that while Reed is extremely reliable when healthy, Davis will see his workload vary from week to week depending on game flow. Fortunately for Davis, Reed picked up yet another injury Sunday, separating his shoulder and throwing his status for Week 13 into some question, although he's making noises like he plans to play through it.