Darnell Mooney was fantastic during his injury-shortened 2025 season and experts don't give him credit. 106 targets, 64 receptions for 992 yards and five touchdowns while setting career highs in yards per target, yards per catch, and touchdowns.
Despite this fantastic showing as the WR 2 in Atlanta's offense, Justin Boone of YahooSports thinks poorly of the veteran WR.
In his most recent top 300 player rankings, Boone placed Mooney as WR 53 overall, which is absurd. This places him behind Rashid Shaheed, who's never bested WR 44 in his career, Kalil Shakir, whose career best is WR 37, and Jauan Jennings, who produced three above-average games, which significantly boosted his 2024 numbers.
While Mooney is limited behind star Drake London, his value is there. He turns 28 in October, which certainly isn't a death sentence. Key contributors like DJ Moore, Jakobi Meyers, and Courtland Sutton are similar in age and continue to produce at high levels.
Where does Darnell Mooney really belong?
While Mooney won't produce WR1 numbers this season, his experience and Atlanta's clear reliance on him will yield numbers of their own. Boone considers Mooney in his tier 9 of QBs, which is outrageous. Proper placement may be tier 7 with George Pickens, Calvin Ridley, and Jauan Jennings.
Falcons fans are elated to see Michael Penix Jr. begin his first full season in the NFL, and for good reason. The young southpaw gunslinger has wowed fans all camp with flashy throws experts have touted since college.
Unfortunately, his fantasy value is capped due to his lack of rushing upside, but QB23 to begin his career seems right.
That's where Boone placed Penix entering the 2025 fantasy season, and it's shocking. Two tiers behind Justin Field (16), who's finished above QB 18 once in his career, and J.J. McCarthy, who missed all of 2024 and has yet to throw a pass in a regular-season NFL game.
Penix certainly won't prove a top-end fantasy QB this season, but QB23 is a little silly. Entering his Sophomore season, Penix is surrounded by playmakers. Bijan Robinson, London, Mooney, the list goes on. Even when struggles are seen, the stars will hoist him to fantasy relevance all season.
After all, will he be worse than Trevor Lawrence? Boone placed the "generational prospect" 20th despite four straight seasons of mediocrity, for fantasy purposes. Alas, these lists aren't perfect, and mistakes will be made, but Penix should outperform the media and Boone's expectations this upcoming season. Consider these two Falcons' late-round value snags.