Who Should I Start? Darnell Mooney or TreVeyon Henderson

Saturday, November 1, 1:02 PM

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney (hamstring) closed out the week with full participation in practice on Friday and heads into Sunday without an injury designation. The 28-year-old was able to muster just one grab on four targets last week despite Drake London (hip) missing the contest with an injury. The veteran receiver has failed to produce consistently this year, catching two passes or fewer in three of the five games he's played in, and has yet to find the end zone. With Bijan Robinson's expanded role in the passing attack in 2025 and Kyle Pitts Sr. finding consistency, Mooney has been pushed down in the pass-catcher pecking order. With London likely to see a lot of cornerback Christian Gonzalez, things could open up a bit for Mooney, but the Pats have limited opposing offenses to 194.7 pass yards per game over the last three games (ninth-fewest) and just 18.3 points per game on the season (fourth-fewest), leaving Mooney as an unexciting WR4/Flex for Week 9.

Saturday, November 1, 9:41 AM

New England Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson will likely operate as the team's primary option out of the backfield in Week 9 against the Atlanta Falcons. Rhamondre Stevenson (toe) has been ruled out already, leaving Henderson as the next man up, based on the depth chart. Of course, there's no guarantee that Henderson steps into an every-down role or even earns the start, as New England has been overly restrictive with his usage this year. The rookie is averaging just 6.6 percent touches per game, and he only played 21 percent of the offensive snaps last week. However, we can likely put those concerns aside now that Stevenson has officially been ruled out. Terrell Jennings should get involved, but common logic points to Henderson starting and handling at least 60 percent of the snaps on Sunday. His matchup is moderately tough; Atlanta has allowed the 15th-fewest fantasy points to running backs in 2025. On a positive note, they did allow 91 total yards and a touchdown to De'Von Achane last week. Henderson is a high-end RB3 with RB2 upside.