Who Should I Start? Drew Lock or Darnell Mooney

Saturday, December 21, 1:01 AM

New York Giants quarterback Drew Lock returns to the starting role for Week 16 against the Atlanta Falcons after missing Week 15 with a heel injury. Lock has been underwhelming in limited action this season, with 405 passing yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions over two starts, averaging just 5.1 yards per attempt. However, the Falcons present an enticing matchup, as their defense ranks 26th in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks over the past four weeks (18.9 FPPG). Atlanta also struggles overall, allowing 24.4 points per game, the fifth-most in the NFL. While Lock's inconsistency and eight sacks taken are concerning, his rushing ability (116 yards, 1 TD) gives him a sneaky floor, but he should remain on the bench for the playoffs.

Friday, December 20, 10:30 PM

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney picked a terrible time to have his worst outing of the season, recording zero catches on one target against a depleted Raiders defense. The 27-year-old posted a one-catch performance back in Week 1, but averaged almost five catches per contest from Week 2-14. Now, with confidence shaken combined with a rookie quarterback making his first start, fantasy managers who survived Week 15's debacle must decide whether or not to use Mooney in Week 16. The lack of success last week should probably be attributed to Kirk Cousins more than Mooney, however. Still, even though the Falcons are nine-point favorites on Sunday versus the Giants, Atlanta is likely to deploy a heavy dose of Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier against a defense that has yielded the fourth-most fantasy points to running backs on the season. If the Falcons do need to ask Michael Penix Jr. to throw, then the receivers should see some success, as New York allows the third-highest completion rate to QBs and has only intercepted a pass twice on the entire year. All that being said, Mooney looks like a shaky WR3 in the fantasy playoffs this Sunday.