Who Should I Start? Darnell Mooney or George Pickens

Thursday, August 28, 1:23 PM

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney (shoulder) is at practice and in uniform on Thursday for the first time since July 24, according to Marc Raimondi of ESPN. Mooney injured his shoulder on the first day of training camp and is just now returning. Although it's unclear if the 27-year-old will be ready for Week 1 of the regular season on Sunday, Sept. 7, against the division-rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he was able to avoid landing on short-term Injured Reserve, which would have kept him out for the first four games of the year. Expect Atlanta to begin ramping Mooney back up in advance of next week's season opener. In his first year with the Falcons in 2024, Mooney had one of the best years of his career, posting a 64-992-5 line on 106 targets over 16 starts. It might be a stretch for him to duplicate those numbers in 2025, but he's at least worth a late-round flier for receiving depth in fantasy drafts.

Tuesday, August 5, 9:16 PM

Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated writes that it's a good sign of Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens in head coach Brian Schottenheimer's offense that the coaches have been able to "move him around to different receiver spots after he was exclusively an X receiver (split end) in Pittsburgh." Pickens and CeeDee Lamb worked out together in Florida in the offseason, and new receivers coach Junior Adams "has had the two working off each other constantly to try and build culture in his room." Things didn't end well for Pickens with the Steelers, but the early signs going into his first year in Dallas are "pretty good." The 24-year-old former second-rounder has had at least 801 receiving yards in each of his first three seasons. He's going to take a back seat to Lamb in this offense, but in what should be a pass-happy scheme, Pickens has lots of upside as a WR3/flex in fantasy in his new home.