Depth Chart Watch: Fallout From Week 16

Well, here we are at the end of another glorious, wacky, unpredictable season of Depth Chart Watch. It's been a wild time trying to keep up with the twists and turns of injuries, fumble-itis, more injuries, and hilariously bad coaching decisions by a future Hall of Famer whose name rhymes with Will Welichick. I hope I've helped you make some sense of the madness.

By the way, if you're playing in Week 17, I'm sure you know to look out for teams that are inclined to rest their starters. I'll cover some of that here, but since no one has a No. 1 seed on lock, we should at least get one half of football out of the top squads' fantasy studs. New England, Cincinnati, Carolina, Arizona, Seattle and Washington are teams that might take it easy (at least to some degree) on their stars in the last week of the regular season.

Arizona RB: With the Cardinals mauling Green Bay on Sunday, David Johnson saw a much bigger share of his touches split off to others than he normally would, but not before he rolled up 39 yards and a touchdown on nine rushes, plus another 88 on three receptions. Kerwynn Williams and Andre Ellington ran well behind him, though Williams lost a fumble. The Cards have earned a first-round playoff bye, so expect to see Johnson – not to mention Carson Palmer, Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd and John Brown – get some degree of rest in Week 17.

Baltimore QB: Having seen enough of Jimmy Clausen, the Ravens started the recently signed Ryan Mallett against the Steelers on Sunday and he actively helped them deliver a stunning win, going 28-for-41 for 274 yards and a touchdown. Figure on him getting a Week 17 start too.

Baltimore RB: In a game that saw the Ravens run a lot of plays, Javorius Allen got back on the horse with 18 carries for 79 yards and a score, plus another 35 through the air – now that's more like it, right? Terrance West toted the ball 13 times in a backup role, but was much less effective (42 yards).

Baltimore TE:Crockett Gillmore (back) hit IR last week, so Maxx Williams is pretty much it at tight end here, but he accounted for only 16 yards Sunday and doesn't project to be much more useful than that in Week 17 against the Bengals.

Buffalo RB: The Bills deployed an interesting game plan Sunday, as Tyrod Taylor ran the ball 14 times vs. just 18 pass attempts; hey, they won, so it worked. All that running usage of Taylor certainly didn't hurt his backfield buds much, as Mike Gillislee got into the end zone for the third straight week thanks to an impressive 50-yard run (part of a 93-yard day on just nine carries), while nominal workhorse Karlos Williams rushed 17 times for 76 yards and a score, adding another 21 through the air. He did lose a fumble, though. There's no guarantee that LeSean McCoy (knee) will be back for Week 17.

Carolina RB: A week after leading the team in rushing, Cam Newton led them in rushing attempts against Atlanta, which should tell you something about the fantasy reward for starting the likes of Cameron Artis-Payne. CAP was terrifically efficient, running for 49 yards on only five carries, but, well, he only got five carries. Fozzy Whittaker got five of his own, which he quite respectably turned into 32 yards. Expect the Panthers to rest Jonathan Stewart (foot) in Week 17 as they try to get him healthy for the playoffs.

Carolina WR: After scoring seven touchdowns in four weeks, Ted Ginn (and his fantasy owners) crashed to earth in painful fashion Sunday, as he caught a nine-yard pass for his lone production of the day and had to depart in the first half with a calf injury. Ginn was targeted just three times before departing. Philly Brown led the unit with six, which he turned into a quite modest three catches for 39 yards.

Chicago RB: The Matt Forte era is really, truly ending in the Windy City. Although Forte was a factor – 11 rushes for 54 yards and 23 more on three catches – he was noticeably marginalized by Jeremy Langford, who ran for 83 on 19 attempts. That duo also yielded seven carries to Ka'Deem Carey, who ran for only 16 yards, but scored on a one-yard rush and a one-yard reception. It's shaping up to be a Langford-Carey duo next year for the Bears.

Cincinnati RB: I expect Giovani Bernard to be the more productive back for the Bengals Monday night, following my hard-and-fast rule concerning him and Jeremy Hill.

Cincinnati TE:Tyler Eifert (concussion) won't play again Monday, so Tyler Kroft will again enjoy a bigger role, although "enjoy" may be a strong word to use when you have to face the tough Denver defense. Eifert seems likely to sit Week 17 as well in preparation for the playoffs.

Cleveland RB:Isaiah Crowell jumped back into a premiere role Sunday, as he doubled up Duke Johnson's carry total, 16-8, en route to 88 yards and a touchdown. Johnson was quiet, totaling 41 yards. Oh, by the way, Johnny Manziel led the team in rushing. This is one of those hot-hand situations. For what it's worth, Crowell lost five yards on six carries in the Browns' last matchup with their Week 17 opponent, the Steelers (not that Johnson was a whole lot better).

Dallas QB:Kellen Moore's first NFL start was basically a train wreck, as he completed only 13 of 31 passes for 186 yards and an interception. He's expected to start again in Week 17 against Washington. Stay away.

Dallas WR: The changing of the guard at quarterback made things a bit different for the receivers Sunday, as the Cowboys sat Dez Bryant (an outcome that seems quite possible to be repeated next week). That left Terrance Williams and, surprisingly, Brice Butler as the two top wideouts, and they drew a combined 19 targets, catching a combined eight for 136 yards. That'd be a shiny total for one receiver, but when you split it nearly equally, it doesn't move the needle much.

Denver QB:Brock Osweiler (shoulder) remains set to start Monday night. Peyton Manning's making progress with his foot issue, but it remains highly questionable when we'll see him back on the field.

Denver RB: No comment.

Detroit RB: A three-way carry split Sunday ensured that no Lions rusher was too productive. Joique Bell scored a touchdown, but had only 13 rushing yards (on seven carries, gross) to go along with it. Theo Riddick ran for only 20 yards on his own seven carries, but did produce seven catches for 63 to help his PPR owners. Ameer Abdullah easily led the way with a 4.9 YPC, but only had 39 yards because he only carried eight times. He also managed to gain all of nine yards on four receptions, which is impressive.

Green Bay RB: Sure, the Packers got thrashed by Arizona on Sunday, but at least it wasn't Eddie Lacy's fault. He respectably delivered 60 yards on 12 rushes and a 28-yard TD catch, making him the only Green Bay player to have a productive fantasy day. James Starks lost a fumble on one of his meager three carries, which got him nailed to the bench, and third-stringer John Crockett carried four times, but made one yard of negative progress.

Houston QB:Brandon Weeden led the Texans to a big Week 16 victory by throwing for 200 yards and two scores (though he did lose a fumble) against Tennessee. Brian Hoyer (concussion) may be ready for Week 17, but whoever's under center, he'll draw an intriguing home matchup against the terrible Jacksonville defense.

Houston RB: With no one running well enough to separate himself from the group, the Texans employed a committee at running back Sunday, with Alfred Blue's 15 carries for 45 yards leading the charge. Chris Polk had 11 for 38 and Jonathan Grimes six for 25 behind him. Even splitting carries, Blue makes for an intriguing, low-cost DFS gamble next week against the Jags.

Indianapolis QB:Andrew Luck (kidney) was absent once again Sunday, but the Colts actually went out and beat the miserable Dolphins to keep their playoff hopes alive. They did so despite getting garbage-level play from Matt Hasselbeck until he left with a shoulder injury, then ever-so-slightly-above garbage-level play from Charlie Whitehurst (9-for-14, 78 yards). Not an exciting prospect for either the quarterbacks or the likes of T.Y. Hilton, Andre Johnson and Donte Moncrief. Luck still hasn't been ruled out for Week 17, so there's that.

Jacksonville RB: To give you an idea of how well things went for Jacksonville without T.J. Yeldon in Week 16, Jonas Gray – signed quietly enough off the Dolphins' practice squad that I didn't notice – led the team in rushing Sunday with 31 yards on five carries. Denard Robinson led the team in rushes with all of six, which he turned into a modest 20 yards, but at least he skirted being a total disaster by catching five passes for another 51.

Kansas City RB: If you were looking for a big Charcandrick West effort in a prime Week 16 matchup against Cleveland, you didn't get it. West was effective, running 14 times for 62 yards, but didn't find the end zone or contribute in the receiving game. Spencer Ware (ribs) got back on the field in a distinct backup role, carrying five times for 15 yards.

Miami QB:Ryan Tannehill got a bit banged up in Sunday's loss, suffering a leg injury. It didn't force him off the field for much time, but with nothing to play for, the Dolphins may well decide to shut him down. Matt Moore's the backup; keep an eye out for updates here.

Miami RB: The Colts' D is not good, but Miami's offense has certainly seen better days at this point, as neither Lamar Miller nor Jay Ajayi got much going Sunday. Miller did score a touchdown and contributed 36 yards through the air, though, which takes the edge off the pain of 15 carries for 31 yards. Ajayi's nine rushes for 23 yards stand alone.

Minnesota RB: It's hard for Adrian Peterson's fantasy owners to be upset about 104 yards and a touchdown, but it's also hard not to feel like it could have been so much more. After all, Jerick McKinnon put the nails in the Giants' coffin with touchdown runs of seven and 68 yards with the Vikes well ahead in the fourth quarter.

Minnesota WR: The 10-5 (!) Vikings put up a whopping 49 points in Week 16, but Teddy Bridgewater hardly needed to do anything – a pick-six and three rushing scores made his day quiet and easy again. Unfortunately, that meant precious little action for the wide receivers, as Bridgewater's one touchdown went to TE Kyle Rudolph. The team leader in targets: Mike Wallace with six, which he turned into… 11 yards. The team leader in receiving: Jarius Wright, with 57 yards on three grabs. It's quiet times in the Minnesota wideout corps.

New England RB:Brandon Bolden got the big share of the touches Sunday, with nine carries and five catches, but delivered a modest 60-total-yard day. Shockingly, signing up Steven Jackson didn't pay off for the Pats, as he gained 15 yards on seven carries in his New England debut against the Jets' stiff front line. The only New England back to find the end zone was James White, who caught the game-tying score at the two-minute warning. This mess will likely continue, but it's worth noting that Tom Brady does seem to be looking White's way in a number of the situations where once upon a time he would have targeted Julian Edelman.

New England WR: Speaking of Edelman (foot), there's reportedly a chance he could return in Week 17. We'll see. Keshawn Martin was the most-used wideout for the Pats in Week 16, as he was targeted 11 times, catching seven for 68 yards.

New England QB/TE: Particularly if the Bengals take a loss in the Monday night game, it wouldn't be a big surprise to see Rob Gronkowski and Tom Brady take a seat in part or all of Week 17. I know you're all just waiting to see the ol' Jimmy Garoppolo-Scott Chandler connection.

New Orleans RB:Tim Hightower had a massive game against Jacksonville on Sunday, as he enjoyed a big workload (27 carries) for the second time in three weeks and delivered 122 yards and two touchdowns. Oh, and another 47 on three receptions – why not, right? He'll remain the starter heading into Week 17 against Atlanta, though the recently reacquired Travaris Cadet should stay involved in the pass game to some degree. Cadet reeled in three balls for 69 yards and a touchdown on five targets against the Jags, though he carried but once. C.J. Spiller didn't play, and not because he was hurt. Would anyone be surprised to see him retire after the season ends?

New York Giants RB: Sure, the Giants got trucked Sunday, but you can't pin it on Rashad Jennings. He continued his sudden dominance of the backfield touches, racking up 74 yards on 14 carries and another 62 on two receptions. Shane Vereen did tie for the team high in pass targets with five, for what that's worth, which is nearly nothing.

New York Giants WR: With Odell Beckham suspended for Week 16, the Giants' receiving corps was a disaster, as was nearly every other aspect of their game. Rueben Randle got away for a 72-yard touchdown, but the game was already well in hand for Minnesota at that point, and his only other catch of the day went for eight yards. Myles White caught one TD in garbage time from backup QB Ryan Nassib, while Dwayne Harris and Hakeem Nicks barely showed up to play.

New York Jets RB: The Jets found themselves with two effective running backs Sunday, neither of them named Chris Ivory. Although Ivory did lead the team in carries with 11, he turned them into just 38 yards; meanwhile, Bilal Powell turned his own seven carries into an efficient 56 three-foot increments through consistency rather than via one big run, adding five catches to round his line out to 90 total yards. Stevan Ridley even got into the action against his old Patriots mates, and while he carried only seven times, he turned those into a very sharp 56 yards. With Ivory struggling again and the Jets heading out on the road for what looks like a must-win Week 17 tilt against Buffalo, expect his leash to be precious short. At the same time, don't expect Ridley to start carving out a bigger role, barring injury to Ivory or Powell. Last week was more likely the exception than the rule.

Oakland WR: After getting named Rookie of the Week for the fourth time this year in the aftermath of his Week 15 explosion against Green Bay, Amari Cooper came back with one of his worst games of the season Thursday, as he caught two passes on only three targets for just 10 yards. He's over 1,000 yards for the season, but has turned in three brutal duds in the last six weeks. Of course, the Raiders' passing game didn't exactly dominate the box score in this one, as Michael Crabtree finished as the leading receiver despite accounting for a modest 39 yards (and a touchdown).

Philadelphia RB: Those who rolled out Ryan Mathews mostly got bitten in the Saturday night game, as only a short touchdown saved him from an utter disaster – five yards on four carries, plus a couple catches for 13. Darren Sproles was similarly ineffective when handed the ball (five carries, nine yards), but he contributed seven receptions for 56, moving the meter in PPR formats. DeMarco Murray arguably looked to be the best of them, but he too saw just a small split of the Eagles' rather modest carry total with only five, which he turned into 27 yards and a touchdown, adding another 24 through the air. This situation's gotten way more muddled than we could have imagined coming into the year.

Pittsburgh WR: I know you can't always feed every mouth in this offense, but it was still odd to see Martavis Bryant targeted only three times – he caught one for six yards and also had a four-yard rush – in Sunday's loss to Baltimore. No surprise to see Antonio Brown lead the team in targets (11), but Markus Wheaton (five) was also more involved than Bryant, whose previous season low was eight targets.

San Diego RB: With Melvin Gordon's knee injury knocking him out for the remainder of the campaign, Danny Woodhead saw a season-high 19 touches (11 carries and eight catches on 10 targets) Thursday, and he put together a solid fantasy day, totaling 108 yards. However, an otherwise atrocious Donald Brown (17 yards on 14 carries against the Raiders – come on, man!) supplanted Woodhead in a first-quarter goal-line opportunity, punching the ball in for the Chargers' lone rushing score of the day. To be fair, Woodhead got his shot, but he went for no gain on first and goal before coach Mike McCoy turned to Brown on second down.

San Diego WR:Dontrelle Inman was easily the Chargers' most frequently utilized wideout Thursday, as he led the team with eight catches on 13 targets (both season highs) for 82 yards and a touchdown. Inman's been sitting low on the depth chart, but it's quite clear that he's the most threatening receiver on this injury-ravaged team at this point, and I consider him their No. 1. Malcom Floyd had a typical day by his standards, catching three balls for 42 yards, while Steve Johnson (groin) sat out. Stevie could be back for Week 17, for whatever that's worth.

San Francisco RB: With Shaun Draughn's knee injury ending his run of fantasy near-utility, the Niners rolled out a new-look backfield Sunday, featuring DuJuan Harris (recently dumped by the Seahawks and signed by SF off the Ravens' practice squad last week) and Jarryd Hayne (freshly restored to the active roster from the practice squad). Harris delivered a surprisingly effective day for a Niners offense that generally resembles a junkyard fire, rushing 11 times for 73 yards, while Hayne saw his biggest workload of the season but averaged only 3.0 YPC on his nine carries and was able to accumulate a meager 20 additional yards on a team-high-tying five receptions.

San Francisco TE:Vance McDonald carried the flag for the Niners' passing game Sunday, leading the way with five receptions for 61 yards and a score on seven targets. Blake Bell was targeted just once.

Seattle RB: Did you go for the gold and start Christine Michael on Sunday? It'd be tough to blame you if you did, but it sure looks bad in hindsight after he rushed six times for six yards. Bryce Brown was similarly useless, rushing seven times for nine yards. All in all, there was surprisingly little utility to be found in the Seahawks' running game. Russell Wilson had more rushing yards (39) than Brown, Michael and Fred Jackson combined (26), though at least Jackson added 43 through the air. Hard to say what the Seahawks will do as far as resting players next week.

Seattle WR:Doug Baldwin had a disappointing Sunday, in that he "only" caught one touchdown to go with a game-high 118 yards. C'mon, Doug, you're fallin' off the pace! Jermaine Kearse caught a touchdown of his own, while Tyler Lockett turned seven targets into a meager 33 yards.

Tampa Bay WR:Vincent Jackson (knee) got an extended rest, but that still wasn't enough to get him back out on the field in Week 16. As has usually been the case when V-Jax has sat out, Mike Evans was the only Tampa receiver to see meaningful work, though his team-high eight targets yielded a fairly quiet 61-yard effort.

Tennessee QB: The Marcus Mariota-less Titans put up six points Sunday, as their impressive rookie quarterback sat out due to a knee injury. Zach Mettenberger made his day look slightly less ugly with a garbage-time touchdown, but still went an unimpressive 27-for-51 with a pick and a fumble.

Tennessee RB: Well, the Titans let David Cobb lead their Week 16 rushing attack after Antonio Andrews' early fumble got him nailed to the bench, but the beating the Texans put on them ensured a pass-heavy offense, so the rookie carried just seven times for 18 yards. Bishop Sankey carried only twice, but did contribute 43 yards through the air, for whatever that's worth.

Tennessee WR:Kendall Wright joined the ranks of injured Titans on Sunday, suffering an MCL sprain in his left knee for the second time this year. That opened the door for Mettenberger to throw in the direction of Harry Douglas a dozen times, but the veteran wideout didn't show well, as he caught only half of them for 79 yards and lost a fumble. With TE Delanie Walker getting 15 targets of his own and the Titans spreading the ball between eight receivers, that didn't leave much for Dorial Green-Beckham (three targets, no catches). Usually a return man, Tre McBride saw his first receiving action of the year, catching two of three balls for eight yards and a touchdown.

Washington RB:Matt Jones picked up a hip injury that flew under my radar last week, and that kept him out of Sunday's game. That left a full workload for Alfred Morris, who amazingly managed to put up exactly 49 yards and zero touchdowns in a game that saw the Redskins score 38 points en route to securing first place in the NFC East. Pierre Thomas assumed the passing-situations role generally split by Jones and Chris Thompson and did excellent work, reeling in seven passes for 67 yards to go with four rushes for 22. Thompson did steal a 12-yard TD catch, though. It'll be interesting to see if the 'Skins rest Morris and/or Jones next week.

Washington WR:DeSean Jackson's revenge game against the Eagles didn't really materialize, adn he mostly served as a distraction (four catches on six targets for 60 yards) while TE Jordan Reed tore the opposing defense apart for 129 yards and two scores. Pierre Garcon's your target leader here with 12, and the 80 yards with a touchdown he delivered pretty much represent the maximum you can expect from him. Jackson and starting QB Kirk Cousins are candidates to see some Week 17 rest with the division locked up. Some of the offensive linemen might rest as well.

Washington TE: Reed is also a prime candidate to be rested for at least part of Week 17, and Marcel Jensen looks like he'd be the prime beneficiary of any extra pass targets, as blocking-oriented veteran Alex Smith is the only other tight end on the roster.