Who Should I Start? Darnell Mooney or Ricky Pearsall

Saturday, September 13, 10:47 AM

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney (shoulder) was a full participant in practice on Friday after being limited earlier in the week, and heads into Sunday night's matchup with the Vikings without an injury designation. The 27-year-old should slide back into his role as No. 2 receiver behind Drake London (shoulder), who also practiced fully on Friday. Mooney owned a solid 21.3 percent target share last season with the same receiving corps, although much of that was with Kirk Cousins under center. In the two games he played with Michael Penix Jr. at the helm, Mooney's target share dropped to 17.7 percent. Going up against a tough run defense, the Falcons may prefer to attack Minnesota through the air, but with plenty of receiving options at their disposal and Mooney potentially getting eased back into action, the sixth-year pro should be viewed as a high-end WR4/Flex play in Week 2 with some slight upside in PPR formats.

Thursday, September 11, 11:52 AM

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall is set to see an elevated workload in Sunday's meeting with the New Orleans Saints due to a myriad of injuries his team has faced. The 49ers won their opening matchup against the Seattle Seahawks, but it didn't come without some collateral damage. Tight end George Kittle (hamstring) landed on IR with a hamstring injury, while fellow wideout Jauan Jennings (shoulder) picked up a shoulder issue of his own. Jennings isn't a lock to play in Week 2, leaving Pearsall and running back Christian McCaffrey as the 49ers' top options against New Orleans. Unfortunately, quarterback Brock Purdy (shoulder, toe) isn't likely to start either, meaning Pearsall could -- and will probably -- be catching passes from former New England Patriot Mac Jones. The University of Florida product's target quality gets a downgrade if that's the case, but hopefully, his volume will help mitigate that.