Tag: Darnell Mooney

Falcons injury news: Latest update on WR Darnell Mooney

ESPN insider provides injury update on Falcons WR Darnell Mooney, who exited Sunday’s game vs. the Broncos

The Atlanta Falcons have the week off and it couldn’t have come at a better time. After ruling out eight players ahead of Week 11, the team suffered a few other notable injuries during Sunday’s 38-6 loss to the Denver Broncos.

Wide receiver Darnell Mooney (hamstring), cornerback Kevin King (concussion) and defensive lineman Zach Harrison (knee) each exited the game and did not return.

Mooney, the former Chicago Bears wideout, has been a key piece of Atlanta’s offense this season. Fortunately, it doesn’t sound like he will miss any time. According to a report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Mooney’s hamstring injury is “not serious.”

Mooney finished Sunday’s loss with two catches for 27 receiving yards. It was his second-lowest yardage total of the year. Despite the quiet outing, Mooney leads the team with 711 receiving yards this season. The former fifth-round pick is on track for the second 1,000-yard season of his career.

The Falcons have a bye in Week 12 before they host the Los Angeles Chargers at home in Week 13. Check back later for updates on Harrison, King and rookie wide receiver Casey Washington.

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Falcons WR Darnell Mooney questionable to return vs. Broncos

Falcons WR Darnell Mooney is questionable to return against the Denver Broncos with a hamstring injury

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney is questionable to return against the Denver Broncos, going down in the second half of Sunday’s contest with a hamstring injury.

This is a huge loss for the Falcons, who were already depleted within the secondary on the other side of the ball and lost cornerback Kevin King to a head injury earlier in the game.

Now, they also have to deal with the chance of not having their most reliable pass-catcher in the fold for the rest of the fourth quarter.

The Tulane product came into this game with 46 receptions for 684 yards and five touchdowns in 2024. Thus far in Week 11, Mooney recorded two receptions for 27 yards.

The Falcons have shown late comeback ability in several games this season but will have to do something incredible to come back against the Broncos as they trail, 28-6 with less than 15 minutes left to play.

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Falcons wide receiver on pace for second 1,000-yard season of career

Falcons WR Darnell Mooney is on pace for the second 1,000-yard season of his NFL career…

Entering the 2024 NFL season, the Atlanta Falcons faced questions about their wide receiver depth behind Drake London. After five games, it’s clear those concerns were overblown and Thursday’s 36-30 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers provided plenty of evidence. 

London may have led the team with 12 catches for 154 receiving yards, but the Falcons had five players finish the game with at least 66 receiving yards in Week 5. Darnell Mooney had nine catches for 105 and two touchdowns. KhaDarel Hodge scored a walk-off 45-yard touchdown in overtime. Ray-Ray McCloud has also been a nice addition to the slot.

While London has a team-leading 32 catches for 354 receiving yards and three touchdowns, Mooney has more than held his own as Atlanta’s No. 2 option on offense.

The former Bears wideout has 24 receptions for 330 yards and three touchdowns through the first five games. Mooney is on pace for 81 catches for 1,122 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. It would be the second 1,000-yard season of his five-year NFL career.

The former fifth-round pick out of Tulane thrived during his first two seasons in Chicago. After a 631-yard rookie campaign, Mooney posted 1,055 receiving yards in his sophomore season.

Mooney struggled with the Bears over the next two seasons as the team transitioned to Justin Fields at quarterback. In 2022, his production dropped to 493 receiving yards before posting a career-low 414 yards in 2023. 

The Falcons needed a quality No. 2 wide receiver who could create separation and signed Mooney over the offseason. That move may have saved the 26-year-old’s career while simultaneously helping Atlanta climb out of mediocrity.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins has trusted Mooney in key moments all season. In Week 5, Cousins targeted the wide receiver twice on fourth down, leading to two fourth-down conversions. Thus far in 2024, Mooney and London have been one of the NFL’s elite wide receiver duos.

The Falcons offense will look to keep things rolling in Week 6 when they face the Carolina Panthers (1-4) on the road at Bank of America Stadium. 

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Fantasy football waiver wire: Week 6 free-agent forecast

Here are the top waiver-wire targets in fantasy football for Week 6.

With five weeks into the books, the fantasy football season is in full swing, which means managing the waiver wire will become more crucial with every passing game.

Teams on a bye in Week 6 include the Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings.

We’ll be taking a look at the top available players rostered in Yahoo, using the 75% rostered mark (at least 25% availability) as the threshold. If you have any questions about prioritizing a certain player over another, don’t be afraid to hit me up on X, formerly Twitter, (@KevinHickey11). Your questions and comments are always welcome!

We also will be taking a look at some deeper players to stash and the top streaming options for the upcoming week.

Fantasy football waiver wire recommendations refer to 12-team league formats, unless specifically stated.

Check back for any updates throughout Monday and Tuesday as more injury news becomes available.

Falcons WR Darnell Mooney catches second-half TD vs. Eagles

WATCH: Falcons QB Kirk Cousins throws 41-yard TD pass to WR Darnell Mooney

After kicking three field goals to start the game, the Falcons finally managed to score a touchdown in the second half of Monday night’s game against the Eagles. Kirk Cousins connected with wide receiver Darnell Mooney, who shook off C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s would-be tackle and walked into the end zone.

The Falcons missed their two-point conversion attempt but temporarily took the lead with Mooney’s touchdown. Watch below, as shared by the team’s Twitter account.

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Fantasy football sleepers to play in Week 1

Here are some intriguing sleepers to consider for fantasy football in Week 1.

The long offseason of research and draft preparations is finally over. Fantasy football has officially arrived.

As managers embark on their quest toward fantasy glory, part of that journey is the ever-challenging objective of finding the right sleepers to start every week.

Whether it’s selecting the right streaming option at the quarterback and tight end positions or finding a flex option who boosts the entire lineup, the search for sleepers is endless.

We will be using The Huddle’s weekly PPR projections and rankings as a reference to find some potential boom games this week. Don’t forget to check out our start/bench list either.

Here’s a look at some sleepers to play in Week 1 of fantasy football to get your season started with a win:

Falcons WR Darnell Mooney, TE Kyle Pitts make plays at scrimmage

WATCH: Falcons WR Darnell Mooney, TE Kyle Pitts make plays at Wednesday’s scrimmage

Training camp is winding down for the Atlanta Falcons but not without one final scrimmage at Wednesday’s open practice. The team must cut down its roster to 53 players by the NFL’s August 27 deadline. As we examined on Monday, several players are roster locks but a handful of spots are still up for grabs.

Two players who don’t have to worry about making the team are wide receiver Darnell Mooney and tight end Kyle Pitts. At Wednesday’s practice, Mooney and Pitts continued to make plays as they have throughout training camp. Watch as Mooney high-points the football to bring in the catch over Falcons cornerback Clark Phillips III below:

In the first half of Wednesday’s Pitts got open down the left sideline and caught a Kirk Cousins touchdown pass. Watch as Pitts shows off his speed to break away fro the defense.

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CBS Sports lists 2 under-the-radar Falcons players to watch in 2024

CBS Sports listed two under-the-radar Falcons players to watch in 2024

Each year in the NFL, different players seemingly come out of nowhere to become household names. Last season, we saw Rams fifth-round pick Puka Nacua burst onto the scene with 105 catches and 1,486 receiving yards.

We’ve seen others, including 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy and Rams running back Kyren Williams, break out in recent seasons. Are there any Falcons players who could sneak up on the rest of the league this year?

CBS Sports released a list of 50 under-the-radar players who could shape the NFL in 2024. Two Falcons players were listed among the top 50. Wide receivers Darnell Mooney and Rondale Moore were ranked 10th and 11th, respectively:

Atlanta’s two biggest wide receiver free agent signings couldn’t be much more different, and the fact that they both make this list speaks volumes to Atlanta’s limited depth at wide receiver. Mooney, primarily a deep threat, had a career-low 31 catches last season. Since entering the league in 2021, Moore has the fifth-highest yards after catch per reception in the NFL (min. 100 receptions), but he’s pretty much exclusively an underneath option, and he has struggled mightily with injuries. — Zachary Pereles, CBS Sports

Mooney is an intriguing player whose first two seasons in the NFL were considerably better than his last two. The former Bears wide receiver had 1,055 receiving yards in 2021 while racking up 907 combined yards from 2022-2023. Perhaps a pocket passer like Cousins can get the most out of Mooney in Atlanta.

As for Moore, the Falcons acquired him in exchange for quarterback Desmond Ridder in an offseason trade with the Cardinals. The 24-year-old is primarily a slot receiver due to his size (5-foot-7, 180 pounds). Moore has racked up 135 catches for 1,201 receiving yards and three touchdowns over his three seasons in Arizona.

Wide receiver was one of the team’s bigger needs this offseason since Atlanta chose not to re-sign Mack Hollins, Van Jefferson or Scotty Miller. Mooney and Moore could thrive playing with more physically imposing weapons like Kyle Pitts and Drake London.

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Despite quarterback dysfunction, the Falcons’ offense has the chance to be great

The Falcons’ new quarterback situation confused everybody, but their offense can still be great in 2024 and beyond.

Okay… we know. This is not how anybody saw it going.

Less than two months after the Falcons signed Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract with $100 million guaranteed, the Falcons selected Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick in the 2024 draft.

Whatever reasons the Falcons had for signing Cousins and then adding Penix when this means that Penix may have to sit for multiple years, there’s a lot to say about what Atlanta did to the rest of its offense that could make it far more dynamic than it has been in years. And that’s been eclipsed by all the weirdness. In addition to Cousins’ NFL pedigree, and Penix’ explosive potential, there’s the matter of three other offensive skill players selected in the first round by this team — tight end Kyle Pitts in 2021, receiver Drake London in 2022, and running back Bijan Robinson in 2023.

In addition to all those moves, the Falcons moved on from head coach and offensive shot-caller Arthur Smith, who was hamstrung by his quarterbacks last season, and didn’t seem to understand how to best use his best players anyway. In comes head coach Raheem Morris and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, firmly from the Sean McVay tree.

But wait… there’s more! The Falcons also signed former Eagles and Bears receiver Darnell Mooney to a three-year, $39 million contract with $26 million guaranteed, and they also added former Cardinals receiver Rondale Moore.

That’s a lot of targets for those footballs — whoever may be throwing them — but again, let’s cast aspersions aside and look at the talent here. Robinson should have a much better sense of how to use his talent, Cousins is a natural fit in Robinson’s offense if Robinson brings the heavy play-action/motion stuff with three-receiver sets, and we’ll see in the preseason how Penix fits in after playing in Ryan Grubb’s NFL-conversant offense.

The Falcons’ passing game could be one of those great marriages that just started off with a really weird first date.

 

 

PFF lists favorite, least favorite moves by Falcons in free agency

Pro Football Focus highlighted their favorite and least favorite moves by the Falcons in free agency thus far

After struggling to find a quarterback over the last two offseasons, the Atlanta Falcons didn’t waste any time going after the top free agent on the market. The team signed veteran Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million deal on the opening day of free agency.

Aside from signing Cousins, the Falcons brought in wide receivers Ray-Ray McCloud and Darnell Mooney. Plus, they traded quarterback Desmond Ridder to Arizona in exchange for wide receiver Rondale Moore.

Time will tell how these new additions fare in Atlanta, but Pro Football Focus listed their favorite and least favorite moves by each of the 32 NFL teams. PFF’s Brad Spielberger listed Mooney as his favorite Falcons free-agent addition:

Mooney avoided a one-year flier after a down 2023 season and got paid a contract that reflects an understanding that his lack of production in recent years wasn’t entirely his fault, with the Bears ranking 32nd in passing yards over his rookie contract. Mooney still separated consistently on film, and now he immediately steps in as a No. 2 option at wide receiver opposite Drake London, winning in different ways than him and tight end Kyle Pitts. A reunion with former Bears general manager Ryan Pace, the man who drafted Mooney in 2020, was a perfect match for all parties.

So while the team was praised for adding Mooney, PFF wasn’t as high on Atlanta’s decision to sign Cousins. The 35-year-old makes the Falcons a better team but is coming off a serious Achilles tear that prematurely ended his 2023 campaign.

Spielberger expressed concern over Cousins’ age and injury status but conceded that he was a top-15 player at his position:

Cousins has undoubtedly proven he’s a top-10-to-15 quarterback in the NFL, and this is the going rate when a player of that caliber reaches unrestricted free agency. Nonetheless, it seems like some people are hand-waving the fact he’ll be 36 years old coming off a torn Achilles. That said, his dance moves looked good at the NFL Awards, so clearly his recovery is going well. — Brad Spielberger, PFF

The pressure is on Cousins to live up to his $100 million in guaranteed money and avoid a Russell Wilson-like disaster in Atlanta. The former Michigan State star has passed for 39.471 yards, 270 touchdowns and 110 interceptions over 12 NFL seasons.

Cousins has a proven track record of high-level play in the regular season and assuming he returns healthy, the Falcons are the clear favorites for the NFC South in 2024.