The most interesting fantasy note about the 49ers' 31-17 Monday night win over the Rams was probably the emergence of rookie Tre Mason in the Rams' run game. Mason was the most effective of the Rams' three running backs, and the St. Louis Post Dispatch says we should "look for Mason's role to increase." It's hard to know exactly what that means - Benny Cunningham and Zac Stacy probably won't just disappear - but Mason can be on your free-agent radar this week.
In other news ...
Most observers seem to be in agreement that Saints TE Jimmy Graham (shoulder) won't play this week, and might miss additional games. If you're looking for a free-agent replacement for Graham, you could do a lot worse than Jets' rookie Jace Amaro (owned in 2.2 percent of FOXSports.com leagues), who caught 10 passes for 68 yards and a TD on Sunday. Graham's real-life replacement, Josh Hill (0.5 percent owned), is an option if you need to dig deeper.
Lions WR Calvin Johnson (ankle) appears unlikely to play in Week 7. Teammate Reggie Bush (ankle) seems confident that he'll return on Sunday.
Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said Monday that WR A.J. Green (toe) has "a shot" to play in Week 7, but let's see what happens when practice starts on Wednesday.
This week's bye teams are the Eagles and Bucs, while Thursday's game features the Jets and Patriots.
Patriots RB Stevan Ridley is done for the season after suffering a knee injury on Sunday. According to the Boston Herald, the Pats will "replace Ridley with a combination of Shane Vereen, Brandon Bolden and rookie James White." Vereen's role figures to increase, and no matter how much some people seem to be talking up Bolden as a fantasy free-agent target this week, his emergence is far from certain. Be cautious if your free-agent acquisition rules require an investment - better to bid small on White than big on Bolden.
Saints RB Mark Ingram (hand) might be ready to return this week and whack Khiry Robinson's fantasy value.
Giants WR Victor Cruz had his season-ending knee surgery on Monday. Though Odell Beckham Jr. (23.7 percent owned) doesn't play the same position as Cruz, his fantasy value will probably benefit most from Cruz's absence. If I owned Beckham, I'd look to start him this week at Dallas.
The Eagles aren't yet sure if Darren Sproles' knee injury will keep him out of action when they return from the bye.
The Chargers don't seem to think that WR Eddie Royal's rib injury is serious.
Jerick McKinnon out-snapped Matt Asiata 46-16 on Sunday, and "one has to assume" that McKinnon is now the team's primary back, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. McKinnon is still owned in just 13.1 percent of FOXSports.com leagues.
If you need a streaming defense this week, the Browns (14.1 percent owned) are probably your best available option at Jacksonville. I like Blake Bortles, but he's thrown seven interceptions in seven halves of football so far.
See you back here Friday morning.
