Who Should I Start? Darnell Mooney or Josh Downs

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.

Monday, August 25, 8:13 PM

Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen expects wide receiver Josh Downs (hamstring) to be back on the practice field next week before the Week 1 regular-season opener against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, Sept. 7. Downs suffered a hamstring injury on Aug. 14 and has been held out of practice since, but it sounds like he's improving and should be ready for the start of the regular season in early September. The 24-year-old former third-rounder in 2023 out of North Carolina took a step forward in his second year in Indy in 2024 with 72 catches for 803 yards and five touchdowns on 107 targets over 14 games (eight starts). Downs has a limited fantasy ceiling because of his mediocre athleticism, but Daniel Jones winning the starting QB job was good for his value as a WR4/flex flier later in fantasy drafts. He'll be in starting three-wide sets with Michael Pittman Jr. and Alec Pierce.