Who Should I Start? Deebo Samuel or Darnell Mooney

Tuesday, October 22, 6:24 PM

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. (illness) was released from the hospital on Tuesday. Samuel hardly played in the 49ers' Week 7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs after coming down with a "pneumonia-like" illness. He was revealed to have been admitted to a hospital on Monday with fluid in his lungs. It is a great sign that Samuel has been released from the hospital. Hopefully, he will make a swift recovery for the sake of himself and his family. The 49ers have put no timetable on Samuel's return to the field. They are hurting at wide receiver with the loss of Brandon Aiyuk (knee). Samuel has effectively missed two games in 2024. He has been solid in his five healthy games posting 335 receiving yards and a touchdown. He has added 51 rushing yards and a touchdown as well. Fantasy managers will need to monitor Samuel's progress as the week continues. Given that he is battling an illness, there is no telling how short or long his recovery could be.

Monday, October 21, 12:04 PM

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney had a useful day in PPR formats in Sunday's 34-14 loss to the Seahawks, nabbing five of eight targets for 46 yards. His 53 targets on the season are more than Terry McLaurin (49) and just two fewer than Stefon Diggs (55), so he clearly has value, but much of his fantasy production came in one blow-up game versus Tampa Bay in Week 5 when he tallied nine catches on a whopping 16 targets for 105 yards and two scores. That contest notwithstanding, the fifth-year pro is averaging four catches on six targets for 52 yards per game. The 26-year-old gets another shot at those same Bucs in Week 8, and while seeing his quarterback heave up 58 pass attempts again is not at all likely, if they try to shut down Drake London who torched them for 12-154-1 the last time out, Mooney and the other receivers would stand to benefit from his added attention.