Who Should I Start? Darnell Mooney or Rome Odunze

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, July 14, 7:16 PM

The Athletic's Kevin Fishbain writes that Chicago Bears second-year wide receiver Rome Odunze should be much better in 2025 with a better offensive scheme and improved quarterback play out of Caleb Williams. Fantasy managers were disappointed with Odunze last season after he was taken ninth overall by the Bears out of Washington. However, Fishbain points out that the 23-year-old pass-catcher was fifth among all rookies in receiving yards (734) while catching 53.5% of his targets. He was most definitely inconsistent and scored only three times in 17 games (12 starts), but there remains plenty of upside, and he should be better in new head coach Ben Johnson's offense with Keenan Allen gone. Odunze's after-the-catch abilities and physical prowess make him a nice WR3/flex with upside to target in fantasy drafts.