Who Should I Start? Darnell Mooney or Ricky Pearsall

Saturday, December 6, 10:31 AM

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney underwhelmed last week with his opportunity to produce while the team's top receiver, Drake London (knee), was out with an injury, catching just two of his five targets for 25 scoreless yards. It would be misguided to expect the same production as London out of Mooney, though, as the latter is more of a downfield threat and is five inches shorter, which tends to limit his effectiveness in the red zone. Nevertheless, the 28-year-old will have another opportunity to produce in Week 14 at home against the Seahawks, with London once again ruled out. Seattle has allowed the fifth-fewest fantasy points to opposing wide receivers for the season and is yielding just 152.7 yards per game through the air over their last three games. Combined with Kirk Cousins' propensity to spread the ball around, Mooney sets up as a low-end WR3 in Week 14.

Friday, December 5, 8:42 PM

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall has not had the second-year breakout that many were predicting back in training camp. Injuries have been a big issue yet again, as he didn't return from a PCL sprain in his knee until Week 11 after getting hurt in Week 4. In three games since his return, the 25-year-old former first-rounder has caught only five passes for 20 yards on nine targets. Overall, he's sporting a 25-347-0 line in seven games. It's not like he hasn't been on the field since his return, as he's played at least 75% of the snaps in all three games. Fantasy managers who have hung onto Pearsall will be hoping that the Niners will devise a plan to get him more involved when they come out of their Week 14 bye to face the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, Dec. 14. Better days could be ahead, but Pearsall is likely to continue to struggle for a high target share in an offense that has plenty of mouths to feed between Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, and Jauan Jennings.