Who Should I Start? Darnell Mooney or Bryce Young


Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.
Rush.
Yds.
Rush
TD
Rec. Rec.
Yds.
Rec
TD
0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Darnell Mooney News

Falcons Planning to Release Darnell Mooney

Thursday, March 5, 5:20 AM

The Atlanta Falcons are planning to release wide receiver Darnell Mooney, sources told Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. Mooney is set to count $18.4 million against this year's salary cap and caught just 32 passes for 443 yards and one touchdown on 72 targets in 15 starts last year in his second year with the team. He's still only 28 years old, though, and has averaged better than 13 yards per catch in each of the last three seasons, so he should generate some interest on the open market from receiver-needy teams. Mooney was heading into the final year of a three-year, $39 million contract he signed with the Falcons in March of 2024. By releasing him, Atlanta will save $7.4 million in salary cap space in 2026. In his first year in Atlanta, Mooney was great, catching 64 of his 106 targets for 992 yards and a career-high five touchdowns. Mooney's lone 1,000-yard season came in his second year in the league in 2021 with the Bears.


Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.
Rush.
Yds.
Rush
TD
Rec. Rec.
Yds.
Rec
TD
13.8 9.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0

Bryce Young News

Bryce Young to Have More Freedom at the Line of Scrimmage?

Thursday, February 26, 9:56 AM

Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales, who is giving up offensive play-calling this year, said that quarterback Bryce Young will "increasingly be able to change plays at the line" when he recognizes mismatches with the opposing defense, according to Kassidy Hill of Panthers.com. "I love the strides we've taken in terms of the operation, how he gets us up there, makes great calls, fixes our protection problems, finding solutions in areas where we've talked about to take advantage of coverages, takes advantage of different fronts for run plays, and just wanting Bryce to continue to grow in the ownership of those things," Canales said. It's the next step in the former first overall pick's development as he heads into his fourth year in the league. The 24-year-old showed improvement in 2025, completing a career-high 63.6% of his passes for 3,011 yards and 23 touchdowns, which were also career-highs. Young will need to take another step forward in 2026 to be thrown into the QB1 conversation in fantasy.


Darnell Mooney vs. Bryce Young

Still trying to decide between Mooney and Young? Check on the latest news to make sure both players are active and healthy. Our PPR projections show that Darnell Mooney is projected to score 0.0 points this week while Bryce Young is projected to score 13.8 points.