With Sunday's games in the books, here's a brief list of the most significant depth chart changes affecting fantasy leagues:
Oakland RB
Rising: Darren McFadden, Michael Bush. Falling: Justin Fargas. The most impactful injury of Week 2 might have been Justin Fargas' groin, suffered in the second quarter of the win over the Chiefs. With Fargas out, McFadden exploded, running 21 times for 164 yards and a touchdown. Bush also played a big role, carrying 16 times for 90 yards and a score. One thing that's quite clear is that the Raiders are going to try to run as frequently as possible, something that they weren't able to do in Week 1 after falling behind early against the Broncos.
Minnesota WR
Rising: Bobby Wade. Falling: Sidney Rice. Rice felt something "pop" in his right knee during the Vikings' loss to the Colts, so his status is uncertain. Filling in would be Bobby Wade, who had three catches for 42 yards in Week 2.
New England RB
Rising: Sammy Morris. Falling: Laurence Maroney. For the second week in a row, Morris and not Maroney got the goal-line carries and a touchdown. Maroney dealt with a shoulder injury during the game, though he later returned and had a carry during the game's final series. Still, he had just eight carries for 16 yards. Outside of short-yardage situations, the most effective ball carrier was LaMont Jordan, who had 62 yards on 11 carries.
Tampa Bay QB
Rising: Brian Griese. Falling: Jeff Garcia. Griese got the win in a caretaker role against the Falcons, averaging just 5.2 yards per attempt without turning the ball over. That should probably be just enough to allow him to start in Week 3 at Chicago. You're probably not going to want any part of Griese in his homecoming game against that Bears defense, particularly if Joey Galloway's foot injury keeps him out.
Tennessee RB
Rising: Chris Johnson. Falling: LenDale White. It's probably unfair to classify this as a classic riser/faller situation, so consider it the identification of an emerging effective platoon, much like Oakland and Carolina. Johnson is now the starter and more involved in the offense. He's going to be in on passing downs as well as many early down situations. White actually had 18 carries plus the red-zone touchdown, but eight of his carries came in the fourth quarter when the Titans were grinding out the clock. Those can be effective carries for fantasy purposes, but they won't always be guaranteed to be in that position.
Carolina RB
Rising: Jonathan Stewart. Falling: DeAngelo Williams. In Week 1, Williams got more action and was the more effective of the two backs, but that reversed itself on Sunday. Not only did Stewart average more per carry and get more touches, but he also got the two goal-line touchdowns and the bulk of the carries in the second half. Both running backs should continue to share time, but don't be surprised if Stewart ends up getting the majority of the playing time.
Miami WR
Rising: Greg Camarillo, Derek Hagan. Falling: Ted Ginn Jr. The Dolphins' offense was anemic on Sunday, scoring its only touchdown late when Chad Henne was at the helm of the offense, replacing an ineffective Chad Pennington. Pennington is the likely starter again next week, which means that Camarillo and Hagan will get more targets than Ginn in a tough matchup at New England. Camarillo particularly benefits in place of Ginn, because of Pennington's propensity to dump it off short rather than attacking downfield.
New Orleans WR
Rising: David Patten. Falling: Devery Henderson. Patten is more of a possession receiver, whereas Henderson is a feast-or-famine guy. One of the tougher spots in fantasy football is debating between a high-upside home run threat and a possession wideout. In a PPR league, Patten seems like an obvious choice. Henderson's owners also have to worry about Robert Meachem taking away his targets. It was Meachem that caught Drew Brees' lone touchdown pass this week. Patten had five catches for 55 yards against the Redskins, while Henderson was limited to two catches for six yards.
Seattle WR/TE
Rising: John Carlson, Billy McMullen and Michael Bumpus. Falling: Seneca Wallace, Logan Payne and Courtney Taylor. The Seahawks are going through wide receivers quicker than Spinal Tap went through drummers. Wallace injured his calf in pregame warm-ups and didn't play. Payne became Seattle's sixth injured wide receiver when he tore a knee ligament, which will likely end his season. Taylor was targeted less frequently than in Week 1, and then failed to connect with quarterback Matt Hasselbeck on an end-zone pattern in the second half. The real beneficiary has been John Carlson, who led the Seahawks with seven catches for 78 yards. McMullen wasn't even supposed to play but was forced into action after the injuries to Wallace and Payne. He responded with three catches for 48 yards. Bumpus caught only two passes, but he got more involved in the offense as the game progressed.
Jacksonville WR
Rising: Matt Jones. Falling: Jerry Porter. Porter once again wasn't able to play, allowing Jones to start in his spot. For the second week in a row, Jones was David Garrard's favorite target, catching five passes for 50 yards. While he's hardly a threat to move into the fantasy elite, it's increasingly likely he'll be involved whether Porter is active for a given week or not.
Chicago WR
Rising: Marty Booker, Brandon Lloyd. Falling: Devin Hester. Hester left Sunday's loss to the Panthers with a rib injury, giving Booker more reps on the field. Booker didn't really do much with his opportunity, catching one pass for just four yards. Lloyd saw the most targets on Sunday, even before Hester got hurt. Temper your expectations, though, as our expectations for the Bears' passing game are appropriately limited.
Detroit RB
Rising: Kevin Smith. Falling: Rudi Johnson. Smith already was the starter ahead of Johnson, but it's worth noting the degree of Smith's dominance in the game plan. Smith had 10 carries to Johnson's one, and four catches to none for Johnson. Of course, it's pretty hard to establish a running back like Johnson when you're playing catch-up, as the Lions did for the second straight week after falling behind 21-0 in the first quarter. If and when the Lions have a lead to protect, it might be a different story, but for now it looks like Johnson is on the team just for depth purposes, rather than as a legitimate challenger to Smith's starting job.
Jeff Erickson is a fantasy writer for Rotowire.com. For more information, please visit Rotowire.com
