Who Should I Start? Darnell Mooney or Khalil Shakir


Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.
Rush.
Yds.
Rush
TD
Rec. Rec.
Yds.
Rec
TD
6.3 0.3 0.0 2.2 31.5 0.1

Darnell Mooney News

Darnell Mooney Listed as Giants' WR2

Tuesday, September 8, 10:31 AM

The New York Giants' unofficial depth chart has Darnell Mooney as the team's No. 2 wide receiver entering the year behind Malik Nabers (knee), according to ESPN's Jordan Raanan. Rookie Malachi Fields and veteran Odell Beckham Jr. are the backups to Nabers and Mooney after the Giants recently cut Darius Slayton from the 53-man roster. Mooney comes to the Big Apple in 2026 after a down year in his second season with the Atlanta Falcons, in which he caught 32 of 72 targets for 443 yards and only one touchdown in 15 starts. The year before, the 28-year-old former fifth-rounder from Tulane had a resurgent season, catching 64 passes for 992 yards and a career-high five touchdowns in 16 starts. After the season-ending injury to Calvin Austin III (knee) and the release of Slayton, Mooney could be a sneaky deep-league option off the waiver wire to begin the 2026 season. Right now, he is only rostered in 1% of Yahoo leagues. Mooney's best year came in 2021 with the Chicago Bears, when he posted an 81-1,055-4 line in 17 games played in his second year in the NFL.


Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.
Rush.
Yds.
Rush
TD
Rec. Rec.
Yds.
Rec
TD
10.2 0.4 0.0 4.4 45.7 0.2

Khalil Shakir News

Khalil Shakir Offers PPR Value Against Houston

Saturday, September 12, 7:34 AM

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir returns to Houston after one of his best games of 2025, when he caught eight of 10 targets for 110 yards in a 23-19 loss to the Texans. Shakir finished the season with 72 receptions for 719 yards and four touchdowns across 16 games, remaining one of Josh Allen's most reliable short-area options. That role could be useful again against a Houston defense that recorded 47 sacks last year and consistently pressured Allen in the previous meeting. The target picture is more crowded this time, however, with DJ Moore now in Buffalo and Dalton Kincaid healthy after missing last year's matchup. Shakir is WR48 in RotoBaller's Week 1 rankings. His catch volume gives him some value as a deeper PPR FLEX, but the added competition makes him much harder to trust in non-PPR formats.


Darnell Mooney vs. Khalil Shakir

Still trying to decide between Mooney and Shakir? 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 6.3 points this week while Khalil Shakir is projected to score 10.2 points.