Who Should I Start? Darnell Mooney or Jameson Williams

Friday, December 20, 10:30 PM

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney picked a terrible time to have his worst outing of the season, recording zero catches on one target against a depleted Raiders defense. The 27-year-old posted a one-catch performance back in Week 1, but averaged almost five catches per contest from Week 2-14. Now, with confidence shaken combined with a rookie quarterback making his first start, fantasy managers who survived Week 15's debacle must decide whether or not to use Mooney in Week 16. The lack of success last week should probably be attributed to Kirk Cousins more than Mooney, however. Still, even though the Falcons are nine-point favorites on Sunday versus the Giants, Atlanta is likely to deploy a heavy dose of Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier against a defense that has yielded the fourth-most fantasy points to running backs on the season. If the Falcons do need to ask Michael Penix Jr. to throw, then the receivers should see some success, as New York allows the third-highest completion rate to QBs and has only intercepted a pass twice on the entire year. All that being said, Mooney looks like a shaky WR3 in the fantasy playoffs this Sunday.

Saturday, December 21, 8:55 AM

Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams has a difficult matchup in Week 16 at the Chicago Bears and makes for a risky play in the fantasy playoffs. The Bears defense allows the second-fewest fantasy points to opposing wide receivers and Williams was held to five catches for 28 yards when the teams played in Detroit in Week 13. The speedy wide receiver has the big-play ability to make one play account for a large chunk of a productive day. Against a good pass defense with other options in the Lions' passing offense like Amon-Ra St. Brown, Tim Patrick, and Sam LaPorta, Williams could be a bit overlooked in this game. Look for other more steady options to fill in the receiver spots for fantasy playoff lineups.