Who Should I Start? D.K. Metcalf or Darnell Mooney

Monday, January 8, 5:00 AM

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf saw a team-high six targets in Week 18 but had just one catch for 10 yards in Sunday's win, making it his least productive game of the year. Most of the balls that went Metcalf's way were well off-target as quarterback Geno Smith was under intense pressure and hurrying throws for most of the game. Metcalf was denied two additional receptions as well. The first was denied by a pass interference penalty that Seattle accepted to gain a first down and the other was overturned upon official review. It was a disappointing end to the season for Metcalf, who had just two top-12 finishes in 2023. Despite the down year, he still had his third 1,000-yard season in his five-year career, ending with 66 catches for 1,114 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. Metcalf, under contract through 2025, will return to Seattle next season as their top receiving threat.

Tuesday, March 12, 11:54 AM

Free-agent wide receiver Darnell Mooney is joining the Atlanta Falcons on a three-year $39 million deal, reported by NFL insider Ian Rapoport. The 2020 fifth-round pick out of Tulane posted 81 receptions for 1,055 yards and four touchdowns with Andy Dalton and a rookie Justin Fields as his primary quarterbacks in 2021, but he has not matched the production since. In 2022 and 2023 combined, he totaled 71 receptions for 907 yards and three touchdowns. However, he's now set to play with the best quarterback of his career, as Atlanta secured Kirk Cousins on a four-year deal on Monday. Mooney figures to be behind Drake London and Kyle Pitts in the target pecking order, but Cousins has supported up to three, and sometimes four, fantasy-relevant pass-catchers in a single season. Mooney is now on the fantasy radar and could hold flex value in 2024.