Who Should I Start? Darnell Mooney or Jaylen Waddle

Sunday, January 4, 11:54 AM

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney (knee) is officially active for Sunday's Week 18 contest against the New Orleans Saints. He had been listed as questionable after logging back-to-back limited practices. The 28-year-old has failed to meet expectations while occupying the No. 2 wide receiver role for most of this season. He has played 81.8% of the offensive snaps when healthy but has a modest stat line of 29 catches, 423 yards, and one touchdown. Mooney finds himself buried in the pecking order behind Drake London and Kyle Pitts Sr. As a result, we expect him to remain off the fantasy radar against the Saints on Sunday. He can be benched in most leagues.

Wednesday, January 28, 1:45 PM

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle bounced back from the worst season of his career in 2024 by catching 64 of his 100 targets for 910 receiving yards and six touchdowns in 16 starts in his fifth year in the NFL in 2025. Waddle also had 28 rushing yards. It was good enough to put him as the WR22 in half-PPR scoring. It was nice to see the 27-year-old pass-catcher bounce back from a disastrous 2024 campaign, but it might have still been somewhat of a disappointment for him, considering Tyreek Hill (knee) missed most of the year with a season-ending injury. Waddle thankfully had a larger target share, but the Dolphins' offense just was unable to find its explosiveness for a second straight season, and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was benched late in the year. Waddle still has the talent to provide plenty of value in PPR fantasy leagues, but his value is in major flux heading into 2026 under a completely new coaching staff. Hill's return (whenever that may be) will also be a negative for Waddle's ceiling.