Alex Smith, Quarterback, Kansas City Chiefs

Smith will never be more than a possible bye-week replacement. He, however, can provide that stability you need with your starter either injured or on a bye. The past two weeks are a pure representation of this. Smith is coming off a Week 7 performance that saw him complete 17-of-24 passes for 214 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions. He's now completed 78 percent of his passes over the past two games. Overall this season, Smith has tallied eight touchdowns and just two picks. Not great fantasy numbers, but more positives than negatives. 

Jay Cutler, Quarterback, Chicago Bears

With Brian Hoyer potentially lost for the season, Chicago is forced with a less-than-stellar decision. Does it go back to Cutler once his thumb is recovered or stick with a disturbingly bad quarterback in Matt Barkley. One has to think the Bears will look to play out the string with Cutler under center. That could come as early as after the team's Week 9 bye. If so, Cutler could very well be worth a waiver-wire add. 
 

Chris Thompson, Running Back, Washington Redskins

Now that Matt Jones has fumbled three times in the past five games, it makes sense for the Redskins to go in another direction. That happened to an extent in Sunday's loss to the Detroit Lions. Thompson put up 12 attempts for 73 yards, adding 40 yards on seven receptions.

Meanwhile, Jones ran the ball just 10 times for 27 yards. Needless to say, the Skins shifted their focus to the backup here. Already flush with PPR value, Thompson will become a tremendous fantasy options hould he continue to see more touches than his counterpart in D.C. 

Jacquizz Rodgers, Running Back, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Let's preface this by indicating Rodgers took on  a San Francisco 49ers defense that's yielding more than 210 rushing yards per game over the past six outings on Sunday. Heck, I'd put up 100-plus yards against this unit. It's still impressive what Rodgers was able to do. He tallied 154 yards on 26 attempts. This followed a 129-yard performance in his previous outing. With Doug Martin suffering a setback from a hamstring injury, there's no reason to believe Rodgers won't continue to see substantial action. If so, he remains a viable fantasy option. 

Mike Gillislee, Running Back, Buffalo Bills

Now that LeSean McCoy aggravated his hamstring injury, it's more likely than not the Bills will have to turn to Gillislee over the short term. Rookie Jonathan Williams was a healthy inactive on Sunday and veteran Reggie Buch won't act as much of a handcuff here. Gillislee put up just five rushes for 20 yards against the MIami Dolphins on Sunday, but he is averaging 6.2 yards on 22 attempts on the season. 

Davante Adams, Wide Receiver, Green Bay Packers

Did Adams finally have that breakout performance we've been waiting for this past Thursday against the Chicago Bears or was it more than a mirage?  Considering the former Fresno State star was targeted a whopping 16 times in the game, it suggests this might actually be the start of a trend. Add in the fact that he came down with 13 receptions for 132 yards, and that's magnified even further. The only real concern here is that Aaron Rodgers put the ball up 56 times on Thursday. That seems to be more of an outlier than anything. 

Tyrell Williams, Wide Receiver, San Diego Chargers

Following a seven-catch, 140-yard performance against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, Williams has now proven himself to be a consistent fantasy performer. The third-year receiver has put up 60-plus yards in four of his past six games, tallying 100-plus yards twice during that span. With Keenan Allen lost for the season, Williams is the one that's stepped up in San Diego's passing game. His connection with Philip Rivers should prove to be fruitful moving forward. 

Brandon LaFell, Wide Receiver, Cincinnati Bengals

Now firmely entrenched in as the Bengals' No. 2 receiver, LaFell has found a nice little relationship with Andy Dalton. He's caught four touchdowns over the past three games, tallying 14 receptions for 164 yards during that span. With Tyler Eifert still nowhere near 100 percent, the target numbers will likely remain steady for this free-agent signee moving forward on the year. 

Jamison Crowder, Wide Receiver, Washington Redskins

With Jordan Reed potentially out through Week 10, the target numbers should continue to be there for Crowder. After putting up seven receptions for 108 yards on nine targets Sunday against the Detroit Lions, that figures to be good for Crowder's fantasy relevance moving forward. 

Vernon Davis, Tight End, Washington Redskins

As we mentioned above, Reed is potentially out through Week 10. If that's the case, Davis promises to see a ton of action from a quarterback in Kirk Cousins who loves using his tight ends. Davis caught all six passes thrown in his direction against the Lions on Sunday. And over the past two weeks, Davis has caught 8-of-10 passes for 129 yards and a score.