NFL Barometer: Kansas City Shuffle

RISING

Knile Davis, RB, KC

Jamaal Charles left Sunday's game against Denver with a high ankle sprain, an injury that usually keeps a player sidelined for around a month. That leaves Davis as the most important remaining player in the Kansas City offense, as Andy Reid's scheme placed a huge workload burden on Charles due to the offense's profound lack of pass-catching talent. It's not an efficient arrangement as far as the Kansas City offense goes – Davis is not a skilled receiver (29 yards on seven catches in 2014) – but the Chiefs simply don't have a better choice, so Davis' volume should stay sky high. Plus, given that Andy Reid is completely content to reduce his best pass catcher (Travis Kelce) to a peripheral role in the offense, Reid obviously doesn't mind a little inefficiency.

Donald Brown, RB, SD

Ryan Mathews is expected to miss around 4-to-5 weeks with an MCL sprain suffered Sunday against Seattle, which leaves Brown in line for a huge opportunity for the next month or so. Although his numbers through two games (19 yards on nine carries) are unimpressive, Brown's slow start is mostly the result of a small sample size against two of the league's best run defenses in Arizona and Seattle. Starting this week against Buffalo, Brown should have RB2 upside in an offense that gave him and Mathews a combined 32 carries and seven catches through the first two weeks. Danny Woodhead is likely to remain in his standard role as a pass-catching specialist.

Khiry Robinson, RB, NO

A broken hand will keep Mark Ingram out for at least a month, leaving the Saints with a shortage of between-the-tackle running back options. With Pierre Thomas working heavily as a passing-down back, the only clear replacement option is Robinson, whose power running proved a good fit for the Saints in the second half of last year. Robinson has 59 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries through two games this season, and he should be a good flex option assuming he picks up a good portion of the 24 carries and four receptions Ingram racked up over the first two weeks.

Bobby Rainey, RB, TB

It's hard to figure out whether or why Doug Martin might have lost something since his excellent rookie season. His season-ending shoulder injury from last year can't be blamed for his six-carry, six-yard 2014 debut against Carolina prior to suffering a leg injury that kept him out against the Rams in Week 2, yet it seems like Martin has already lost ground to Rainey, who caught a touchdown pass against the Panthers in Week 1 before running for 144 yards on 22 carries against a strong St. Louis run defense Sunday. Despite his lack of draft pedigree, Rainey's college production was better than Martin's, and his pre-draft workout numbers were almost identical to Martin's, so it's looking like a real possibility that Rainey might be as good or better than Martin. It's anyone's guess whether the Lovie Smith regime suspects as much, but for now it seems safe to say that Martin is on the ropes, and Rainey has a lot of momentum.

Niles Paul, TE, WAS

After catching eight passes for 99 yards and a touchdown against the Jaguars on Sunday, it's looking like Paul should be owned in almost all fantasy leagues so long as Jordan Reed (hamstring) is out, particularly in light of DeSean Jackson's shoulder injury. While Paul's numbers over the last two weeks (12 catches for 185 yards and a touchdown) might seem like a fluke, there's actually a lot of reason to think he will keep it up. Before the Redskins made the strange decision to convert him to a fullback/tight end hybrid, he was a standout wide receiver at Nebraska, showing big-play ability as all of a pass catcher, runner and returner. He's up to 240 pounds these days, but Paul possessed 4.45 speed at around 6-foot-1, 225 pounds heading into the 2011 draft, so he has plenty of athleticism to keep making plays from the tight end spot.

Matt Asiata and Jerick McKinnon, RB, MIN

Adrian Peterson's tentative reactivation for Week 3 seems subject to league intervention until further notice, particularly as media and public scrutiny of the Vikings and the league's recent domestic violence issues continue to mount. If Peterson should miss any time going forward, the Vikings would need to lean on Asiata and McKinnon in the running game. The former has more short-term utility and more general job security as a veteran player, but his lack of running ability (221 yards on 62 career carries) leaves him vulnerable to McKinnon, who's raw but also is a truly spectacular athlete.

FALLING

Nick Foles, QB, PHI

Foles has 653 yards and three touchdowns through the air in his first two games, but he quite simply hasn't looked good. That's against two defenses (Jacksonville and Indianapolis) that probably aren't very good, either, so Foles' shaky accuracy and poor anticipation through the first two weeks is a major concern as the Eagles prepare for a three-game stretch that features pass rushers like Ryan Kerrigan, Brian Orakpo, Justin Smith and Robert Quinn. Foles did next to nothing encouraging against the Colts on Monday, as he was mostly just bailed out by the exceptional after-the-catch running of Darren Sproles, who finished with 152 yards on seven catches. Foles heads into Week 3 with more turnovers (four) than touchdowns (three). Foles' owners probably need to just sit tight for now, but it's looking like his 27-touchdown, two-interception showing from last year was at least a slight fluke.

Jake Locker, QB, TEN

It's hard to imagine that Locker could into Arrowhead Stadium and throw for 266 yards and two touchdowns and then completely implode at home against a pitiful Dallas defense the next week, but he found a way. Locker completed just 18-of-34 passes for 234 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, casting serious doubt over his ability to help breakout candidate wide receiver Justin Hunter fulfill his potential. He did manage to find tight end Delanie Walker for the second week in a row, though, completing 10 passes to the tight end for 142 yards and his second touchdown of the season.

Jarrett Boykin, WR, GB

Boykin played 49 of Green Bay's 62 snaps in Week 1, but that number fell to 34 of 71 snaps against the Jets in Week 2. That's 79 percent of the Week 1 snaps and just 47.9 percent in Week 2. Boykin's decreasing play count can be directly attributed to rookie second-round pick Davante Adams, whose play count jumped from 14.5 percent (9-of-62) in Week 1 to 50.7 percent (36-of-71) in Week 2. The Packers obviously didn't spend a second-round pick on Adams to let him sit on the bench, and the fact that Adams finished with five catches for 50 yards on Sunday will probably only hasten Boykin's exit from the Green Bay wideout rotation. Boykin has just a six-yard catch after the first two weeks.

Ladarius Green, TE, SD

Green's combination of excellent college production and rare athleticism makes him a very intriguing fantasy prospect, particularly in light of his career NFL average of 12.7 yards per target. However, the Chargers have long shown a disinterest in utilizing whatever talents he might have, and Antonio Gates' three-touchdown showing against the Seahawks just about closes the book on Green's breakout prospects for the time being. So long as both Gates and Eddie Royal are on the field, the Chargers just don't seem willing to give Green a role as a pass catcher. Gates is very injury prone at this point in this career, of course, so Green is worth holding onto in deeper formats as a lottery ticket.