Who Should I Start? Darnell Mooney or Rashid Shaheed

Monday, November 17, 11:21 PM

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney almost had the second 1,000-yard season of his career in 2024 with the Falcons, but this year has been an entirely different story. In eight games played, Mooney has only 16 receptions on 42 targets for 224 yards and no touchdowns. The 28-year-old former fifth-round pick has had four one-catch games and just has not been trustworthy for fantasy purposes. However, Mooney is now on the waiver-wire radar going into a Week 12 divisional contest against the New Orleans Saints after teammate Drake London (knee) sprained his PCL in Sunday's overtime loss to the Carolina Panthers. Mooney also injured his ribs in that game, but he was able to return after halftime and finished with three catches on four targets for 34 yards. Rostered in 31% of Yahoo leagues, Mooney might now become a more attractive flex play for however long London is out. The catch is that veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins is now taking over the offense with Michael Penix Jr. (knee) likely done for the year.

Friday, November 14, 7:13 PM

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Rashid Shaheed could see his involvement increase in Week 11 against the Los Angeles Rams. Seattle will be without wide receiver Tory Horton (groin/shin) in this game. Horton is Seattle's other deep-play threat who could threaten Shaheed's touches. Shaheed was only on the field for 34% of the Seahawks' offensive snaps in Week 11. Part of that was likely due to the game script removing the need for additional offensive output as Seattle was dominating the Cardinals. Still, Seattle was intentional with trying to get Shaheed the ball. He garnered three targets, including a couple of plays clearly schemed for him. The Rams are near the top of the league in defending all facets of the game. However, all Shaheed needs is one big play to make his fantasy day. Ironically, Shaheed just faced the Rams in Week 9 as a member of the New Orleans Saints. He reeled in five catches for 68 targets for a solid fantasy day. As such, Shaheed could be a solid dart throw if you are in dire straits at the wide receiver position.