Flex Spending: Jennings' injury opens door for Jones with Packers

Week 5 of the season brings the full force of the bye weeks, with the Cowboys, Bucs, Lions and Raiders off. Your depth will be tested. It also means the new faces could end up swinging games, making it absolutely necessary to stay up on who's coming and who's going at the flex position.

James Jones, Packers -- Jones has taken advantage of an increased role thanks to Greg Jennings' groin injury, and has totaled 191 yards receiving and three scores on 16 catches. With Jennings still hampered by his groin injury, Jones should remain a solid fixture in the Green Bay offense. We know the top two receivers in the Packers' offense will be strong fantasy plays every single week. For at least the next couple of weeks, Jones should find himself in one of those spots. Given the fact that we're in the thick of the bye-week portion of the schedule, Jones owners are going to want to start him more often than not. This week offers a great matchup against the Colts in the passing-friendly confines at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Jackie Battle, Chargers -- Battle started over Ryan Mathews last week and carried the ball 15 times. He picked up just 39 yards on the ground, but caught four passes for 42 yards, and ended up scoring twice. There's no doubt that Mathews is the more talented back, but there's also no doubt that San Diego's coaching staff and management are fed up with his propensity to put the ball on the ground. Mathews picked up 10 carries in the fourth quarter alone and will undoubtedly play a bigger role in the offense than he has thus far, but Battle has earned his spot in this offense. For the time being, he can be considered a decent flex play, depending on your depth.

Andre Roberts, Cardinals -- After scoring four touchdowns and racking up 229 yards on 15 catches, it's time to take notice of Roberts, the starting receiver opposite Larry Fitzgerald in Arizona. He has produced only one real stinker of a game, catching just one pass for two yards in Week 3 against the Patriots, but even that one catch was a touchdown. He's clearly the second option in the passing game behind Fitzgerald, and for a team that is struggling to get anything going on the ground, he could legitimately be the second option on the entire offense. For now, he's a guy you want to add to your roster, but not necessarily start. He could be worthy of starting if your roster is decimated by bye weeks. Make no mistake, though. He's a guy you should pick up if still available.

Brandon Bolden, Patriots -- Oh, that crafty Bill Belichick. Just when he gets us all on the Danny Woodhead bandwagon, he breaks out Bolden, gives him 16 carries and watches his new back go for 137 yards and a touchdown. With Alfred Morris looking like the feature back in Washington, it appears Belichick is the new Mike Shanahan. That means that while Bolden is certainly worth adding to your roster, there's a great chance he has already had his best game of the season. Like Roberts, he's a guy that can be started with some confidence this week depending on the bye-week situation. In fact, I'm likely starting him in one of my leagues where I have multiple running backs on byes. Stevan Ridley is still the No. 1 back in New England, but this is an offense that has proven it can support plenty of mouths.

Doug Martin, Buccaneers -- After his third straight uninspiring performance, it's time to downgrade Martin. He piled up 95 yards on 24 carries and caught four balls for 23 yards in his NFL debut, but since then has ran for just 152 yards on 47 carries. The good news is there really isn't a back in Tampa to take a ton of work for him. The bad news is LeGarrette Blount scored a goal-line touchdown last week, and appears to be in line for the short-yardage work. That will take a significant chunk out of Martin's value. I'd still advise starting him in most situations, but let's just say the bye week is coming at the right time for him.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Bengals -- Like Martin, Green-Ellis will be a guy to start most weeks. But where most owners would have done that with confidence after the first week of the season, you're probably not feeling quite as good about it now. In the last three weeks, Green-Ellis has rushed for 195 yards on 64 carries. That's an average of 3.05 yards per rush -- not exactly the things rushing titles are made of. Thankfully for his owners, he's the only show in the Cincinnati backfield, so he should continue to get a ton of carries. However, this is a pass-first team with a world-class receiver in A.J. Green and a below-average defense. Green-Ellis has also fumbled three times in the last two games after not fumbling once in his career coming into this season. Green-Ellis was once a strong RB2 and a lock as a flex play. He's now a fringe RB2 and a solid flex, but not a lock at the position.

1. Arian Foster2. Ray Rice3. A.J. Green4. Adrian Peterson5. LeSean McCoy6. Jamaal Charles7. Marshawn Lynch8. Victor Cruz9. Roddy White10. Wes Welker11. Trent Richardson12. Frank Gore13. Maurice Jones-Drew14. Jimmy Graham15. Brandon Marshall16. Rob Gronkowski17. Julio Jones18. Reggie Bush19. Stevan Ridley20. Percy Harvin21. Dwayne Bowe22. Larry Fitzgerald23. Willis McGahee24. Ryan Mathews25. Matt Forte26. Ahmad Bradshaw27. Jordy Nelson28. Reggie Wayne29. Michael Turner30. Alfred Morris31. Darren Sproles32. Brandon Lloyd33. Torrey Smith34. Mike Wallace35. Andre Johnson36. C.J. Spiller37. DeMaryius Thomas38. Marques Colston39. Steve Smith40. Fred Jackson41. Chris Johnson42. Brian Hartline43. Steve Johnson44. DeSean Jackson45. Eric Decker46. Pierre Garcon47. Steven Jackson48. Vernon Davis49. Antonio Brown50. Donald Brown51. James Jones52. Tony Gonzalez53. Ryan Williams54. Rashard Mendenhall55. BenJarvus Green-Ellis56. Nate Washington57. Danny Amendola58. DeAngelo Williams59. Andre Roberts60. Fred Davis61. Ben Tate62. Brandon Bolden63. Jackie Battle64. Lance Moore65. Domenik Hixon66. Malcom Floyd67. Antonio Gates68. Michael Bush69. Kendall Hunter70. Jonathan Stewart71. Michael Crabtree72. T.Y. Hilton73. Jerome Simpson74. Jeremy Maclin75. Owen Daniels76. Jermaine Gresham77. Jacquizz Rodger78. Andre Brown79. Andrew Hawkins80. Kyle Rudolph81. Donnie Avery|82. Anquan Boldin83. Randall Cobb84. Daniel Thomas85. Greg Olsen86. Greg Little87. Heath Miller88. Sidney Rice89. Brandon LaFell90. Bilal Powell91. Donald Jones92. Daryl Richardson93. Brent Celek94. Shonn Greene95. Alshon Jeffery96. Jeremy Kerley97. Davone Bess98. Jonathan Baldwin99. Golden Tate100. Kenny Britt

Chat with me on Twitter, @MBeller.