Who Should I Start? Darnell Mooney or Ladd McConkey

Friday, May 30, 11:44 AM

The Atlanta Falcons plan to target wide receiver Darnell Mooney more often during the 2025 season, according to wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard. "We're going to lean on him a lot more than we did last year and see where that goes," Hilliard said. Mooney impressed during his first campaign as a Falcon last year, catching 64 passes for 992 yards and five touchdowns through 16 games. He was the overall WR31 in PPR leagues despite missing the season's final contest with a shoulder injury. Mooney said he performed well on deep routes last year, and quarterback Michael Penix Jr. acknowledged how difficult he is to cover one-on-one. Operating alongside another talented receiver in Drake London, Mooney currently ranks as RotoBaller's WR48 in redraft leagues. That puts him ahead of players like Cooper Kupp, Stefon Diggs, and Matthew Golden.

Monday, June 23, 6:52 PM

The additions to the Los Angeles Chargers' offense this year should make second-year wide receiver Ladd McConkey even more dangerous, according to The Athletic's Daniel Popper. The different is that last year the offense was stunted because they lacked vertical threats. This year, the Chargers have options that can attack defenses vertically from various alignments, which will open up short and intermediate areas for McConkey. Rookie wideout Tre' Harris and rookie tight end Oronde Gadsden both have the ability to make plays down the field for the Bolts and take attention away from McConkey. McConkey was a fantasy stud in his first year in the NFL with 82 catches on 112 targets for 1,149 yards and seven touchdowns in 16 regular-season games (14 starts). The Chargers will remain a run-first offense, but McConkey should still be in play as a low-end WR1/high-end WR2 in fantasy.