Who Should I Start? Darnell Mooney or Ricky Pearsall

Friday, July 25, 9:06 PM

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney (shoulder) is expected to miss most of training camp with a shoulder injury. He exited Friday's practice early after attempting to make a diving catch down the sideline and did not return. The severity of his shoulder injury is unknown, and Mooney is considered day-to-day for now. The 27-year-old was productive as Atlanta's No. 2 wide receiver, catching 64 of 106 targets for 992 yards and five touchdowns over 16 games. Ray-Ray McCloud III, Kyle Pitts, KhaDarel Hodge, and recently signed DJ Chark should see an uptick in snaps and targets if Mooney misses any regular season games. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor the situation as the Falcons are expected to provide more details on Mooney's shoulder injury soon. Mooney's draft stock takes a slight hit as his status for Week 1 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is up in the air.

Wednesday, July 23, 6:10 PM

The Athletic's Matt Barrows writes that San Francisco 49ers second-year wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (hamstring) trained off on a side field at training camp practice on Wednesday, but he should be back for Sunday's practice. Pearsall began training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list, but it sounds like he might be activated soon. It's good news for the 49ers with Brandon Aiyuk (knee) potentially not returning until around midseason. In addition, fellow second-year wideout Jacob Cowing injured his hamstring in Wednesday's practice. With Deebo Samuel Sr. now out of town as well, the 24-year-old Pearsall has a major opportunity in 2025 to take the next step if he can stay on the field. If the former first-rounder can put his hamstring issues behind him once and for all, he could be in line for a breakout campaign.