The Patriots' Shane Vereen may seem like a strong candidate for a midseason breakout now that Stevan Ridley is out for the season with a torn ACL and MCL, but it's not like he suddenly has all the carries to himself.
As I point out in my latest post to the Fantasy Football Today blog highlighting some of the biggest takeaways from Week 6, Brandon Bolden didn't touch the ball against the Bills until the fourth quarter, after Ridley left, and yet he still finished with more carries than Vereen. That's a pretty strong tell, I think. Vereen has his role in the Patriots offense, catching passes out of the backfield and getting the occasional change-of-pace carry, but the Patriots still want a grinder back there.
Though Bolden lacks experience, he's had success when he's gotten extensive playing time in the past. In the three games in which he's gotten double-digit carries in his career, he's averaged 5.8 yards per carry. He had 137 yards on a career-high 16 carries back in 2012.
Of course, he's no Ridley, and Vereen will probably get a larger share of the carries just because of that. But I'm guessing he won't get the majority, which makes me hesitant to start him Week 7 against the Jets.