Fantasy Footnotes: Shane Vereen shines; Chris Ivory stakes claim to Jets backfield
Every gameday during the regular season, theScore's fantasy editors recap the most important news and notes from around the league.
Vereen takes over for Ridley
New England Patriots running back Shane Vereen displayed the versatility on Thursday night that makes you believe the team can survive the Stevan Ridley injury.
Vereen caught five passes for 71 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while adding 43 yards on 11 carries.
Don't expect Vereen to get a ton of carries every week, but it's clear the Patriots plan to move him all over the field and employ a different offense than they did when Ridley was healthy.
Chris Ivory outduels Chris Johnson
Slowly but surely Chris Ivory is taking over the Jets backfield.
Ivory ran for 107 yards on 22 carries and added a touchdown. Conversely, Chris Johnson only received 13 carries and posted 61 yards.
Not a terrible output by Johnson, but it's clear that if Ivory can stay healthy he should get the bulk of the workload in the running game.
Other Notable Fantasy Lines
Tom Brady, QB, Patriots
20-of-37 for 261 yards, 3 TDs
Brady seems like his early season struggles are well behind him. He now has nine touchdown passes in the last three games.
Rob Gronkowski, TE, Patriots
5 catches for 68 yards
He didn't find the end zone, but Gronkowski looks to be moving better every week.
Brandon LaFell, WR, Patriots
4 catches for 55 yards
LaFell continues to make plays in this offense. After a slow start, he's now got 19 catches and three touchdowns since Week 3.
Danny Amendola, WR, Patriots
1 catch for 19 yards, 1 TD
He made just his fifth catch of the year, but at least it went for a touchdown.
Geno Smith, QB, Jets
20-of-34 for 226 yards, 1 TD
Easily his best game of the season, but still not an ideal option.
Jeff Cumberland, TE, Jets
3 catches for 65 yards, 1 TD
Jace Amaro still got more targets, but his drops will continue to make Cumberland valuable in this offense.
Injury Ward
Eric Decker, WR, Jets
Decker had a decent day, catching four balls for 65 yards. It looks like his hamstring issues are behind him.
Waiver Wire
Jonas Gray, RB, Patriots
It's not an great pickup unless you are desperate or in a very deep league, but he did get three carries on Thursday when Brandon Bolden didn't get any. Vereen still figures to get most of the work, though.