With Travis Henry's injuries and legal woes looming, Selvin Young figures to see more action.

With bye weeks coming to fruition and a few injuries in the running back ranks, we’re starting to see more and more names pop up on the rookie lists.  And can it be?  A Minnesota Vikings receiver?  On to this week’s report…

Quarterbacks

Trent Edwards, Buffalo Bills
Season Stats: 55-79, 507 yds., 1 TD, 3 INT, 75.2 PR
Last Week: 23-31, 176 yds., 0 TD, 1 INT, 74.1 PR

With the Bills defense merely handing Edwards a win on Monday night, the rookie quarterback took the game and threw it away with a fourth quarter interception with the ball deep in opposing territory.  He’s quickly losing the faith of his teammates including wide receiver Lee Evans who seems to be itching for J.P. Losman’s return.  Ignore Edwards in all formats.

Brady Quinn, Cleveland Browns
Season Stats: N/A
Last Week: N/A

Just a reminder that Quinn hasn’t seen a snap yet this season and that the Browns have a chance to enter the bye week at .500 on the season, and a blocked field goal away from 4-2.  The Browns offense, coaches and fans seem to be firmly behind Derek Anderson at this point – with or without interceptions.  If this continues, we may not see Brady Quinn until next season, at the earliest so feel free to put him on a reserved list in dynasty leagues or drop him completely in redrafts.

John Beck, Miami Dolphins
Season Stats: N/A
Last Week: N/A

Ironically the team that the Browns face this weekend.  With Trent Green likely done forever, the only player that John Beck has to pass on the depth chart is Cleo Lemon.  The Dolphins had their eye on Beck in the draft, passing on Brady Quinn in favor of Ted Ginn, Jr.  One has to think that the rookie will be given the shot with the team 0-5 and the passing game nearly invisible.  It may not happen this week, but do not be surprised to see Beck’s name called within the next week or two.

Running Backs

Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
Season Stats: 76 car., 383 yds., 1 TD; 9 rec., 166 yds., 1 TD
Last Week: Bye

Now that the bye week is out of the way, Peterson should finish the season as a top-ten running back from here on out.  He may not get a ton of carries right now, but the team will slowly turn to his hands, and if he can stay healthy, look out.  Favorable match-ups against San Francisco, Green Bay and Detroit are only a few on the docket for the Vikings.  If you can move someone like Rudi Johnson or even Shaun Alexander – especially in a keeper league – I wouldn’t hesitate for a second.

Marshawn Lynch, Buffalo Bills
Season Stats: 100 car., 373 yds., 3 TD; 7 rec., 68 yds., 0 TD
Last Week: 20 car., 66 yds., 0 TD; 2 rec., 32 yds., 0 TD

Thankfully for Lynch owners, his involvement in the passing game allowed him to get his yardage to a respectable level for the week.  If you’re in a PPR league, 11.8 points isn’t too bad for a guy who is likely your RB2.  While teams are going to start packing the box to stop Lynch, as he’s all that is working for the Bills, there are a ton of rumors pointing to his ability to catch passes out of the backfield – exhibited by his 20+ yard reception on Monday night.  He’s consistently getting carries and while he’s not as likely to have a huge touchdown day like a Marion Barber, his 20 carries a game cannot be ignored.

DeShawn Wynn, Green Bay Packers
Season Stats: 36 car., 165 yds., 3 TD; 9 rec., 73 yds., 0 TD
Last Week: 13 car., 78 yds., 1 TD; 1 rec., 13 yds., 0 TD

He’s pretty much been the best Packer running back by default, but he’s done very well with it.  Green Bay will likely turn to Vernand Morency in passing situations (seven receptions last week), but Wynn will get goal line carries as well as sporadic totes between the 20s.  Brandon Jackson has to be wearing thin on the coaching staff, so Wynn’s game against the Bears will likely earn him some more carries down the road – just beware of this week’s game against Washington as the ‘Skins defense has been pretty stout as of late.

Kenton Keith, Indianapolis Colts
Season Stats: 51 car., 255 yds., 2 TD; 7 rec., 39 yds., 0 TD
Last Week: 28 car., 121 yds., 2 TD; 5 rec., 37 yds., 0 TD

If you didn’t listen to my advice last week, you likely left about 30 points on your bench or even free agent list.  If your league left Keith on the waiver wire through the weekend, it’s more than too late to use him now.  The Colts go into their bye week this time around, and Joseph Addai will be inserted back into the lineup for week seven.  If the Colts continue to romp opponents, look for Keith to get more carries as the home field gets decided early on.  He’s a valuable handcuff; just don’t expect 150 yards and two trips to the pay dirt going forward.

Brian Leonard, St. Louis Cardinals
Season Stats: 38 car., 181 yds., 0 TD; 5 rec., 33 yds., 0 TD
Last Week: 18 car., 102 yds., 0 TD; 5 rec., 33 yds., 0 TD

With news that Steven Jackson will likely be out until week 10, Leonard’s value spiked a bit.  With news that the Rams play the Baltimore Ravens this week, who are top-five against the run, Leonard owners will have to wait a bit to utilize the rookie back.  He has yet to find the end zone, but 18 carries is definitely a good sign of things to come.  Take the yardage for now, and just hope that the Rams can get themselves near the goal line for Leonard to take it home at least a few times before Jackson returns.

Selvin Young, Denver Broncos
Season Stats: 16 car., 138 yds., 0 TD; 9 rec., 77 yds., 0 TD
Last Week: 1 car., 0 yds., 0 TD; 4 rec., 20 yds., 0 TD

Talk about a roller coaster ride in Denver.  News broke about Travis Henry’s pending suspension, and Young’s value shot threw the roof.  How does he respond in week five?  With one carry, not gaining a yard on the ground  He made up for it somewhat in the air, but unless Henry is going to miss some time, Young’s value will only be based on a rotational stance with Mike Shanahan.  While you can’t afford to dump a guy that can be named the starting back at any point in the season, it may be best if you let him be someone else’s problem. 

Wide Receivers

Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City Chiefs
Season Stats: 22 rec., 369 yds., 3 TD
Last Week: 4 rec., 70 yds., 0 TD

Bowe turned out his work week in recent memory in week five, and still hauled in four passes for 70 yards.  He’s not going to score every week, but it’s a good sign that the rookie still got a bunch of targets with Eddie Kennison back in the lineup.  If anything, I would be a bit concerned about the play of Brodie Croyle with the injury to Damon Huard.  However, the match-up against one of the worst pass defenses in the league in this week has to have owners salivating.  Start Bowe with confidence, and then possibly test the trade waters before his bye week.  

Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions
Season Stats: 11 rec., 192 yds., 2 TD
Last Week: 1 rec., 3 yds., 0 TD

My, what a fall from grace.  Johnson started out of the gate with a bang, but hasn’t been the same since getting hurt a few weeks back.  The Lions were awful against the Redskins in week five, and will look to bounce back – they’ll just have to wait a week as Detroit is on a bye for week six.  If anything, keep in mind that the rookie gets one more crack at the Vikings, a team he recorded four catches for 60 yards and a TD against on week two.

James Jones, Green Bay Packers
Season Stats: 23 rec., 293 yds., 1 TD
Last Week: 5 rec., 61 yds., 0 TD

It’s not often that a third option on a team can average near five receptions a game.  The way the Packers are throwing the ball, even one of their three running backs has value in the passing game.  Whether or not Jones gets another chance for a touchdown seems to be based on luck more than play-calling at this point, but he’s consistently putting up double-digit points in PPR leagues.  Keep in mind what Washington did to Detroit’s passing game last week, but also take into account that Jones gets to play the Lions twice, St. Louis and Carolina before the end of the season.

Sidney Rice, Minnesota Vikings
Season Stats: 10 rec., 106 yds., 1 TD
Last Week: Bye

I failed to mention Rice last week, primarily due to the bye that the Vikings were awaiting.  While the purple and white are about as far from an aerial attack that you’ll find right now in the NFL, they’re going to have to establish at least some sort of passing game to get the run game moving.  Rice is coming off of a game that saw him snag six balls (on nine targets) for 75 yards and a touchdown against Green Bay.  While this game against the Bears may not be the easiest, the Vikings play several weak pass defenses over the next few weeks, so he may be worth an add as a WR4/5. 

Tight End

Greg Olsen, Chicago Bears
Season Stats: 6 rec., 85 yds., 1 TD
Last Week: 4 rec., 57 yds., 1 TD

While his season stats are not impressive, remember that the rookie tight end missed a significant portion of the early goings.  His solid week five game came on eight targets, with Olsen hauling in the one that came in the red zone.  He’s looking like a solid option from here out, but caveat emptor on Desmond Clark who was the recipient of five targets of his own.  The Vikings are no stranger to giving up passing yards, so look for Olsen’s name to be called on more than one occasion this coming week.