Backfields
Cincinnati Bengals
Take your finger off the panic button, Giovani Bernard owners. After only touching ball the three times in Week 8, Bernard ran 13 times for 72 yards while adding another 14 yards of offense on his lone reception Sunday against the Browns. He also played four more snaps than Jeremy Hill, who is now averaging a mere 3.3 yards per carry. Hill has now carried the ball 15 or more times in each of the last three games, but has not cracked the 60-yard mark since the opener. All five of Hill's touchdowns came in two of the first four games. While Bernard has only caught four passes over the last three games, he has proven himself to be the superior runner averaging 5.6 yards per carry. After some fluctuation early in the season, the snaps for Bernard and Hill have been close to even each of the last three games.
Cleveland Browns
Following the release of Robert Turbin, the Browns backfield is back to Duke Johnson and Isaiah Crowell. In Week 9 against the Bengals, Crowell played a season-high 60 percent of the offensive snaps while Johnson got 47 percent. This marks the first time since the opener where Crowell played more snaps than Johnson, although the difference is just four plays. Facing some formidable run defenses in recent weeks, it's been a real struggle on the ground for this duo. Unfortunately, Johnson has only registered four receptions over the last two games after catching seven balls for 73 yards in Week 7 against the Rams. After showing some promise for PPR purposes, Johnson appears very unlikely to offer any consistency from one week to the next.
Denver Broncos
Last week against the Colts, C.J. Anderson regained a slight edge in snaps played after Ronnie Hillman had seen a little more action each of the last two games. Hillman only managed a single yard on seven carries, while Anderson mustered 34 yards on seven carries. Pro Football Focus grades the Broncos' offensive line as a slightly negative run blocking group, but good enough to place them tied for 14th among all 32 teams. Both Anderson and Hillman are crapshoot players as each one continues to swing between 40-something to 50-something percent of the snaps played.
New York Giants
The Giants played 77 snaps of offense on the road against the Buccaneers. However, they put four running backs on the field for double-digit snaps. Shane Vereen led the way with 28 snaps. Next, Rashad Jennings played 23 snaps. He continues to struggle and is now under 4.0 yards per carry on the season. Finally, Andre Williams (14) and Orleans Darkwa (10) filled in the rest. Sadly, the longest run of the day for this group was 11 yards. From Weeks 2-8, Vereen caught eight passes in three different contests, yet registered zero or one catch in the other three games. In this game Vereen made four grabs, including his second touchdown in as many weeks. Vereen is the only Giant RB to own. And even that's limited to PPR as there's simply no way to feel good about putting him into your lineup.
San Diego Chargers
In Week 8 against the Ravens, Melvin Gordon was featured on a season-high 18 carries. He could only squeeze out 54 rushing yards despite playing more than 50 percent of the snaps for just the second time. If you remove Gordon's 88 rushing yards back in Week 2, he's barely averaging 40 yards per game. Facing the Bears on Monday night, his workload was scaled back to 38 percent of the snaps while Danny Woodhead saw the field a season-high 58 percent of the time. In three of the last five games, Gordon's longest run of the day was in single digits. Clearly, the 15th overall pick in the draft is really struggling. We could be talking bust if Gordon hasn't improved by this time next year.
San Francisco 49ers
There's not much to say here, but it's notable that Shaun Draughn played 46 of 68 snaps just days after being signed off the street as a free agent. Draughn had a nice 30-yard run en route to recording 58 yards on 16 carries. In addition, he caught four passes for 38 yards. The 49ers are heading into their bye week, then travel to Seattle in Week 11 prior to hosting the Cardinals in Week 12. Even if the stress fracture keeps Carlos Hyde on the shelf for awhile, there won't be many realistic opportunities to consider using Draughn.
Wide Receivers of Note
Green Bay Packers
James Jones is coming off two disappointing performances on the road against the Broncos and Panthers. The veteran combined to catch only three passes for 59 yards. He was only targeted twice in the Mile High City, but saw six looks last week. That's the most for Jones since Week 4 against the 49ers. Playing time surely hasn't been an issue for him. Last week Jones played nearly 94 percent of the offensive snaps, his most since the first two games of the season. Even though Aaron Rodgers is still throwing plenty of touchdowns, he's on pace to finish with 507 fewer passing yards than what he put up a year ago. While the season-ending injury to Jordy Nelson opened the door for Jones to be productive, it has taken a toll on the offense as a whole. The fluky touchdown rate for Jones was never going to be sustainable. If you didn't sell high already, Jones can't be trusted for anything more than a flex option.
Indianapolis Colts
After catching four passes and a touchdown for a season-high 81 yards in Week 8 against the Panthers, there might have been some optimism that Andre Johnson was perhaps turning this season around. Unfortunately, that was simply an aberration not unlike his two scores back in Week 5. In fact, Johnson didn't catch a single pass on Sunday against the Broncos and was only targeted twice. Johnson also played a mere 42 percent of the offensive snaps, easily his lowest mark of the season. It's gotten so bad that Griff Whalen is closing in on Johnson's role as the Colts' No. 3 wide receiver. After being a non-factor on offense nearly all season, Whalen has been targeted a total of 11 times over the last two games while playing double-digit snaps for the first time.
Tennessee Titans
We were promised more Dorial Green-Beckham and we got more Dorial Green-Beckham. The rookie saw double-digit targets last week against the Saints after coming into the game with a total of 14 all year. He also played a season-high 68 percent of the snaps and has now exceeded 60 percent in each of the last three games. Tight end Delanie Walker remains the only Titans pass catcher you'd feel comfortable starting right now, but DGB certainly needs to be owned. The early buzz around Kendall Wright (knee) has him missing another game. Perhaps more importantly, the Titans' remaining schedule is very favorable for wide receivers, outside of the Week 14 date on the road against the Jets.
Washington Redskins
While he's yet to score a touchdown and lacks big-play ability, slot receiver Jamison Crowder is averaging eight targets and six catches per game over the last six contests. Deep threat DeSean Jackson returned last week, but is still trying to catch up with the offense after missing a lot of time in camp and during the season. The other outside receiver, Pierre Garcon, has failed to capitalize during Jackson's extended absence. Consider Crowder as a low-end, safe play at the flex position for the PPR crowd, especially in this week's nice matchup against the Saints.