Job Battles: Permanent Promotion

This series will group the addressed job battles first by position, then sort by descending fantasy significance.

Quarterback

Baker Mayfield displaces Tyrod Taylor, CLE

Mayfield is officially the starter for Week 4 and this one is a wrap. Mayfield might have his ups and downs like any rookie, but the chances of Taylor playing again this year for any reason other than injury or blowout are just about nonexistent. Taylor was highly dysfunctional as a passer in this offense, so it's not as if Mayfield even needs to clear a high bar.

But he probably could if the need had existed. Taylor's limitations – accuracy and spatial anticipation – are specifically Mayfield's strengths, and there is plenty of skill position talent around Mayfield to stabilize his play. Jarvis Landry is an excellent foundation for a passing game, while Antonio Callaway's burning speed keeps the safeties back for David Njoku and the running game to get loose. Look for Njoku to roar back into the fantasy mainstream starting this week, by the way.

With quarterbacks like Mitch Trubisky and Case Keenum falling off the edge of the flat earth and Jimmy Garoppolo's disheartening injury, Mayfield warrants mainstream speculative consideration even in 12-team leagues. Don't forget that he knows how to run a little bit, too.

C.J. Beathard replaces Jimmy Garoppolo (knee), SF

This is of course not a job battle and the loss of Garoppolo is brutally disappointing, but Beathard shouldn't be overlooked as a fantasy option as the new starter in San Francisco. He acquitted himself with dignity as a raw rookie third-round pick last year, a season that was supposed to be a redshirt one behind Brian Hoyer. Perhaps most notably, Beathard flashed some rushing upside by running for 136 yards (5.2 YPC) and three touchdowns as a five-game starter. This is still a Shanahan offense, and the surrounding personnel is more mature than what Beathard worked with a year ago.

Josh Rosen vs. Sam Bradford, ARZ

This is something to avoid in fantasy football until Steve Wilks is fired, because it's hard to imagine any quarterback succeeding here. Meanwhile, Bradford's footing was always so unstable that Rosen is probably already owned in 2QB leagues. With that said, if he's still out there in yours, then you might want to add Rosen now. He struggled with a 4-of-7 line for 36 yards and an interception off the bench Sunday, but Bradford's season-long line of 50-of-80 for 400 yards, two touchdowns, and four interceptions is hardly preferable.

Running back

Chris Carson over Rashaad Penny, SEA

Seattle looks to have a bad offense this year and Carson's 102 yards on 32 carries against Dallas highlight his own limitations, but the Seahawks made an emphatic commitment to him as their lead runner Sunday, as the rookie first-round pick Rashaad Penny saw just three carries for five yards.

I don't know whether Penny's reported weight gain is a factor here, or if his disappointing production to this point is just noise from a small sample. It could be both. But the guy who played at San Diego State is better than Carson, so I wouldn't expect this arrangement to last all year, assuming Penny gets his health in order. If he doesn't, though, then Carson should continue to see heavy usage in a Brian Schottenheimer's cave dweller offense.

Kerryon Johnson vs. LeGarrette Blount, DET

Johnson has looked better in consecutive weeks since a five-carry, 17-yard Week 1, and Sunday night's showing against the Patriots was especially encouraging. Johnson ran decisively and with good stop/start ability, slashing through the Patriots for 101 yards on 16 carries. He only caught two passes for nine yards, but he flashed plenty of competence in this capacity in the prior two games.

Blount is playing adequately himself, however, and it's difficult to tell from afar whether Johnson will displace Blount as a runner or Theo Riddick as a pass catcher. Just one of those guys needs to go for Johnson to take off. The Lions offensive line butchered the Patriots, and the Matthew Stafford-led passing game should get the Lions within scoring range regularly, so Johnson is a strong speculative bet to turn into a top fantasy asset over the course of the year. The only hindrance is the fact that the Lions won't typically have 16 carries each for Johnson and Blount, and Johnson can only get so many targets if Riddick is averaging seven per game.

Jamaal Williams vs. Aaron Jones vs. Ty Montgomery, GB

Much deliberation was made over the question of which Green Bay running back would be a fantasy factor this year, when perhaps the question should have been 'Will there be one at all?'

Williams, Jones, and Montgomery all have various positive traits going for them, and they generally don't overlap. That makes it difficult for one to pull away from the others. Williams is the most powerful runner and best pass blocker of the three, so it makes sense for him to handle short-yardage and hurry-up offense situations. Jones is the most elusive of the three out of the backfield, so it makes sense to turn to him when you're between the 20s. Montgomery is the most naturally gifted receiver of the three and an elusive runner in his own right, so he can cycle in for practically any scenario.

To our collective horror as fantasy owners, each of the three runners reminded of their respective utilities against Washington on Sunday, with none doing us the favor of narrowing the field by embarrassing themselves. Williams ran for 29 yards on five carries, Jones ran for 42 on six carries, and Montgomery turned seven targets into 48 yards receiving. Green Bay of course lost, but not because any of these three backs failed with their tasks. So how do we expect them to differentiate?

Perhaps Williams' rushing production will lag and open the door further for Jones, but Jones will need to establish himself more in blitz pickup to fully displace Williams, and meanwhile neither player can encroach Montgomery's skill level as a receiver. This just looks like a jam barring injury.

Corey Clement vs. Wendell Smallwood vs. Josh Adams, PHI

I consider both Smallwood and Adams to be superior prospects to Clement, yet even I wouldn't make much of yesterday's surprising outcome in the Philly backfield, infuriating as it must have been for Clement's owners. This offense rotates its running back personnel as a matter of policy, and Sunday was probably just an arbitrarily good day for Smallwood and Adams, who combined for 86 yards on 16 carries while Clement struggled to 56 yards on 16 carries.

Smallwood could have some long shot appeal in PPR leagues if Darren Sproles (hamstring) misses more time, but if Sproles should return it would likely knock Smallwood back to the bench. Adams should get displaced from the roster whenever Jay Ajayi (back) is able to return. It's probably Clement or it's nobody from this group, so I'd chase other scents. And again, I'm saying that as a fan of Smallwood and Adams.

Wide Receiver

Danny Amendola vs. Albert Wilson vs. DeVante Parker vs. Jakeem Grant, MIA

Miami's handling of wide receiver personnel this year has been patently ridiculous. They ship out Jarvis Landry, and they sign Albert Wilson. Fine. That's a reasonable replacement – Wilson has been productive in the NFL and was a solid prospect coming out of Georgia State. Whatever. Then they sign Amendola, and before any bullets fly they appoint him as the leading slot receiver.

You might ask, "What evidence is there that Amendola is better than Wilson?" and I would have nothing to offer you. Amendola will be 33 in about a month, has never exceeded 689 yards receiving in nine seasons, and 'boasts' a career YPT of 6.7, a figure that was significantly raised by playing five years with Tom Brady. Wilson, by contrast, offers a career YPT of 8.1 and possesses 4.43 speed at 5-foot-9, 202 pounds. Amendola's lesser career trajectory is compounded by the fact that at just 183 pounds he was capable of only a 4.7-second 40, and that was nearly 10 years ago. But according to ESPN's Cameron Wolfe, Amendola played 31 snaps Sunday while Wilson played 10. Adam Gase presumably has some reason for this decision, but I'll never guess right no matter how many times I try.

This is all occurring while the team evidently formed some level of fondness for a third slot receiver, Texas Tech prospect Jakeem Grant. Grant is tiny at 5-foot-6, 165 pounds, but he has sub-4.4 speed and a developed skill set as an open-field runner, making him a tempting consideration for an otherwise lethargic offense. But only so tempting as to play him nine snaps against the Raiders, for some reason. That means Grant played 66 snaps to this point in 2018, seeing 14 targets while catching nine for 135 yards and two touchdowns. He also returned a kickoff for a touchdown in Week 1. These are compelling numbers.

But who's to say what any of it means when we haven't been able to account for Parker yet? It was Parker's return from injury/healthy scratch purgatory that resulted in the decreased snap counts for Wilson and Grant against Oakland, and Parker didn't embarrass himself by catching two of three targets for 40 yards. Three targets on 33 snaps is not a high target rate, however, and Gase's consistently cold tone toward Parker in public quotes makes it difficult to tell what the political situation might be. Parker is talented, but it seems like he and Gase don't have much reason to like each other.

It's impossible to tell where the snap distribution is headed here, because we don't know what the answer is with the Parker question. For now, though, it's safe to say that Kenny Stills, Parker, and Amendola are locked in as the top three. Wilson and Grant need to see their snap counts go up if their theoretical upside is to ever acquire oxygen, but it can't happen without a demotion to at least one of Parker or Amendola. It would have to be at least a 14-team league before I'd consider adding Wilson or Grant for the time being.

Tight End

Dallas Goedert vs the Philadelphia WRs

Most battles for usage occur intra-position, but the structure of the Eagles offense Sunday may have marked the beginning of a new approach where Philly addresses its passing game woes by spotlighting Goedert at the expense of what otherwise might be wide receiver personnel. Goedert was a smashing success against the Colts, catching seven targets for 73 yards and a touchdown, so Doug Pederson only has reason to maintain or escalate Goedert's function, and it needn't occur at any expense to Zach Ertz.

Goedert was Philadelphia's first selection in the 2018 draft following trades back into the second round, so that he arrived Sunday felt somewhat overdue despite his emphatic success in that setting. Now the Eagles see that it can work, and if they commit to Goedert there's a good chance for him and Ertz to coexist as fantasy factors. If injuries to Evan Engram, Jack Doyle, or Greg Olsen have you hurting at tight end, Goedert's 55 snaps and seven targets from Sunday are something worth serious consideration.