Who Should I Start? DJ Chark or Darnell Mooney

Monday, August 18, 11:19 AM

The Atlanta Falcons have released veteran wide receiver DJ Chark, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. The team signed Chark in late July after wide receiver Darnell Mooney (shoulder) went down with a shoulder injury early in training camp. While Mooney has yet to return to the field, Chark's release could be an indication that Atlanta is confident that Mooney will not miss significant time. It could also simply mean that Chark was not part of the team's 53-man roster plans, regardless of Mooney's status. With Chark no longer in Atlanta, veteran KhaDarel Hodge looks like the top candidate to receive more playing time while Mooney is sidelined.

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.