NFL Player News

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said he'll keep using running backs Matt Asiata and Jerick McKinnon as a committee, with McKinnon as the "change-of-pace back," reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

"I hope we can continue to grow his role, but I don't think he's going to be an every-down player right now," Zimmer said of McKinnon, who exploded for 135 rushing yards on 18 carries Sunday.

Asiata will continue to start after running for 78 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries.

The good news is Knile Davis delivered his second straight 100-yard game even with star running back Jamaal Charles back on the field Week 4 against New England. The bad news is Charles looked so good himself that Davis may not have a shot at another.

Only two weeks removed from a high ankle sprain that seemed certain to sideline him for weeks to come, Charles scored three touchdowns -- one on the ground and two through the air -- and was consistent with his 18 carries, the longest going for 17 yards. He acknowledged some soreness afterward but gave no reason to believe he won't be back out there Week 5 at San Francisco.

In fact, if not for a big lead in the second half, he might have been out there longer in Week 4. Of Davis' 16 carries, 11 came in the second half. He played 43 percent of the Chiefs' snaps to Charles' 54 percent.

If Week 5 ends up being a closer game -- and it most likely will be -- the Chiefs may not ask Davis to spell Charles as much. While you're no doubt pleased with your decision to stick with the backup despite Charles' return, you may have simply lucked out. Davis remains as good as a of a handcuff option as you'll find in Fantasy, but you should plan to bench him for the foreseeable future.

Despite Jamaal Charles' return from an ankle injury, Chiefs coach Andy Reid indicated running back Knile Davis will continue to get substantial work. Davis has run for 239 yards the past two weeks.

"They're both explosive players," Reid told ESPN.com. "They're completely different players, but they're both explosive players. That makes my job easy. Just give them the ball."

With the Patriots in comeback mode all night, running back Shane Vereen was on the field a lot in Kansas City. He ran eight times for 26 yards and caught all five of his targets for 41 yards.

Vereen established season highs in touches and receiving yards. He'll play Cincinnati on Sunday night.

Chiefs running back Knile Davis shared backfield duties with star Jamaal Charles on Monday night, but it didn't stop the second-year pro from going over 100 yards rushing for the second straight week. Davis ran 16 times for 107 yards (6.7 ypc) and caught one of two targets for 12 yards.

Davis got going early, ripping off a 48-yard run in the first quarter. He played 30 snaps to Charles' 34. Davis is up to 321 rushing yards through four games entering Sunday's visit to San Francisco.

Chargers running back Branden Oliver, an undrafted rookie, earned praise from coach Mike McCoy after totaling 56 yards on 13 touches in the Week 4 win over Jacksonville.

"He's just going to get better with time," McCoy said, per ESPN.com. "And if we get him a few more creases, there's going to be some explosive plays, because he's a strong runner that's always going north and south."

With Ryan Mathews and Danny Woodhead injured, Oliver shared snaps Sunday with starter Donald Brown.

Jets fullback Tommy Bohanon fractured his collarbone in the Week 4 loss to the Lions, coach Rex Ryan said. The team will work out fullbacks this week.

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said Monday he views Jerick McKinnon as a change-of-pace running back this season, according to The Star Tribune. However, Zimmer mentioned McKinnon potentially becoming an every-down back in 2015.

For the first time all season, Chris Johnson averaged more yards per carry than Chris Ivory for the Jets in Week 4 against the Lions Sunday. Still, Ivory dominated the playing time, as he continues to look like the best option in the Jets' backfield.

Johnson led the team with 7.3 yards per carry, though that number is skewed by the way his day went. Johnson had just 9 yards on five carries until his 35-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, his first play of more than 12 yards on the season. By comparison, Ivory's 84 yards on 17 carries still looks pretty solid, especially for Fantasy owners looking forward.

The snap count numbers aren't much better for Johnson, who saw the field for just 28 percent of the team's plays; that was down from 36 the previous week. Ivory, on the other hand, jumped up from 34 percent to 58 percent in Week 4.

Johnson isn't going to disappear, especially not if he can show more examples of the big-play ability that made him so dangerous in the past. However, Fantasy owners should absolutely consider Ivory the top option in the Jets' backfield until further notice. 

Though he picked up only 62 yards on an absurd 31 carries Week 3 at Buffalo, some Fantasy owners held out hope that Chargers running back Donald Brown could deliver more as Ryan Mathews' replacement Week 4 vs. Jacksonville. After all, he was going against the league's 32nd-ranked run defense.

He couldn't. On a per-carry basis, the performance was much like the one he had at Buffalo, only the Chargers didn't let it go on for 31 carries this time, sprinkling in rookie Branden Oliver for much of their last few possessions.

Quarterback Philip Rivers carried the offense in this one, completing 29 of 39 passes for 377 yards and three touchdowns, and judging by Brown's performance through two starts, that figures to be the case until Mathews returns.

Especially now that Oliver has gotten involved, Brown is no more than a desperation option in Fantasy.