Aaron Hernandez Injury: Whose Fantasy Stock Now Rises in Pats' Offense?

New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez sprained his MCL in Sunday's win over the San Diego Chargers and may miss as few as one and as many as six weeks while healing from the injury.

While this doesn't bode well for Hernandez's fantasy owners, who have benefited from his 14 total receptions for 165 yards and two touchdowns over his last two games (including a touchdown and 62 yards while playing on that strained knee against San Diego on Sunday), they do benefit from this season being one of the deepest at tight end in recent memory.

And those GMs with other members of the Patriots' offense on their rosters will certainly see an uptick in their numbers while Hernandez heals, starting with fellow tight end Rob Gronkowski.

Gronkowski, who had six receptions for 68 yards and one touchdown Week 1 against the Miami Dolphins and four catches for yet another 86 yards and two touchdowns against the Chargers, appears at first to be the heir apparent for Hernandez's looks.

However, one of the strengths of Gronkowski and Hernandez is that the two are generally on the field at the same time.

The Patriots are developing an evolved offensive system that includes two tight ends on practically every snap, and it serves not only to provide additional pass protection but also to confound opposing defenses regarding who will be Brady's target for the throw.

While Gronkowski will surely continue to get a major share of targets, it is more likely that Brady will continue to spread the ball around among his many receiving options to mitigate the loss of Hernandez.

This means more throws to Wes Welker, more to Deion Branch and even more to BenJarvus Green-Ellis. But the receiver who could benefit the most from Hernandez's absence is Chad Ochocinco.

Ocho has only three catches on the year, one for 14 yards against the Dolphins and two for 45 yards against the Chargers. He played just 18 snaps Week 1 and 17 Week 2.

It will take some time to get him acclimated with the quick pace of the Patriots' passing game, and Hernandez's injury opens up a spot for him to get more snaps and at least stay on the field for more offensive plays. As he gets more comfortable, he will get more looks.

Despite his extremely slow start, predicated by a truncated training camp experience that saw Ocho with just three weeks to work with Tom Brady, I am very high on him as a viable fantasy wide receiver this season.

Though it hasn't happened just yet, that doesn't mean he will have little value as the season continues. This is Ochocinco's chance to really impress, and if he takes advantage of it, he could emerge as the best fantasy football beneficiary of the Hernandez injury.