Who Should I Start? Mecole Hardman or Darnell Mooney

Tuesday, August 26, 1:11 PM

The Green Bay Packers are releasing wide receiver Mecole Hardman on Tuesday, sources told Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports. Despite the Packers dealing with multiple injuries to their receiving corps in training camp, the Packers will move on from Hardman, who was looking to secure a depth role with the Packers after spending the first six years of his NFL career with the Kansas City Chiefs. In his six NFL seasons, the 27-year-old pass-catcher has caught 178 of hi 258 targets for 2,302 yards and 16 touchdowns in 80 regular-season games (28 starts). Hardman also has plenty of special-teams experience and should be able to find work with another team for his versatility and speed during the 2025 season. Last year in 12 regular-season games (no starts) with KC, Hardman caught just 12 passe for 90 yards and no scores.

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.