The hottest commodity in fantasy football right now is a player that does not even start for his own team. Owners in nearly 60 percent of leagues acquired New York Jet Shonn Greene this past week in the aftermath of his 144-yard, two-score performance against the lowly Raiders.

Greene was a common sleeper candidate on draft day, ending up on a roster in over one-third of all leagues. Fantasy owners that drafted the rookie from Iowa quickly lost patience with his lack of playing time, and two-thirds of his owners cut him loose.

Now, seemingly every owner is pursuing Thomas Jones' backup. A perfect storm of occurrences has caused Greene's sudden popularity. Chief among them was the broken leg suffered by Leon Washington, the erstwhile second-string back in the Big Apple. Washington had an impressive 324 yards in his first six games before his injury early in Week 7. Based upon his showing last week, Greene has an excellent opportunity to surpass Washington's output.

Furthermore, the Jets have found a greater affinity with the ground game now that Mark Sanchez's early-season scintillation has dulled. The Jet quarterback has struggled recently, averaging only 128 yards through the air since Week 4. In that same span, the Jets have churned out four of their best five rushing games, including two consecutive 300-yard contests.

The Jets albeit have benefited from facing two of the worst rush defenses in the league the last two weeks, including 32nd-ranked Buffalo and 30th-ranked Oakland. The upcoming slate includes games against ground stalwarts Miami and Jacksonville.

In the latter portion of the season, though, the Jets face more porous run defenses in Carolina (26th), Buffalo again, and Tampa Bay (29th). Expect Greene to get 15 carries a game going forward and to put up great numbers in favorable matchups. As fantasy owners make a push toward the playoffs, Greene is a steady option in the flex position.

Another running back in the news recently is soon-to-be former Kansas City Chief Larry Johnson. After making inappropriate comments, Johnson has been suspended by the team. This incident is far from the first disruption LJ has caused. He missed four games last year because of off-the-field behavior issues, including his fourth arrest.

Presuming that the Kansas City brass has tired of Johnson's act, his Week 8 suspension is likely to continue beyond the Chief's Week 9 bye. Ready to replace Johnson is Jamaal Charles.

Kansas City backups have fared better than Johnson in the past few seasons. In 2007, when Larry Johnson and Priest Holmes suffered injuries, Kolby Smith averaged 77 yards a game for five games, more than the 70 yards Johnson averaged that year. In 2008, Charles finished with 357 yards on 67 carries for an average of 5.3 yards.

This season, Charles has done well in limited action. In six games, Charles has 236 yards on just 37 touches. With Johnson out of the fold at least temporarily, Charles is likely to get about 15 touches and 60 yards. Owners will want to let him audition for a starting spot in Week 8.

Finally, one of the emerging impact players in the AFC is Steeler rookie Mike Wallace. Following a sluggish start to his career in which he covered 35 yards in his first two games, Wallace has become a larger part of the Pittsburgh offense.

In four of his last five games, Wallace has either scored a touchdown or gained 70 yards of offense. The one drawback to Wallace is that he typically gets only three or four chances to make his mark. He has but one game in which he has more than three receptions.

Nevertheless, Wallace appears to be the deep threat for quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who loves to throw the ball downfield. The Steelers have also implemented Wallace in their running game recently, giving him three carries in the last two games. Wallace is a free agent in roughly half of all leagues and is worth considering when he returns from bye in Week 9.