Darnell Mooney Fantasy Overview

A Major Step Down

Mooney spread 32 catches, 443 yards, and 1 TD across 15 games. He topped 3 catches only once and reached 50 yards twice.

He finished 85th in PPR points per game and cracked the weekly top 36 only twice: WR15 and WR32. His best week came with Drake London sidelined.

Last year marked a huge departure from Mooney’s resurgent 2024 that included six top-24 finishes.

He Settled Into a Smaller Role

Mooney’s 15.3% target share marked a sharp decrease from his 20.3% figure in 2024.

His 72 targets ranked a distant fourth among Falcons, behind Kyle Pitts, London, and Bijan Robinson.

Ugly Efficiency Markers

Mooney needed high efficiency given the low volume, but that never materialized. Among 76 WRs with 50+ targets, he ranked:

• 67th in yards per target
• 69th in yards per route run
• 69th in drop rate
• 76th in catch rate

QB Play Didn't Help

Atlanta’s QB play regressed in 2025. The team fell from 7.7 yards per attempt, a 65.1% completion rate, and 254.2 passing yards per game in 2024 to 6.8, 60.9%, and 207.2.

Pass volume wasn’t ideal, either, with Atlanta finishing 21st in pass rate and 26th in pass rate over expected.

Early Injuries Also Set Him Up to Fail

Mooney’s down season wasn’t only driven by the offensive approach and QB play.

A broken collarbone on the first day of training camp cost him Week 1, and a hamstring injury knocked him out of Week 4 and cost him Week 5.

Can Mooney Become the No. 2?

Mooney joined the Giants on a one-year, $3 million deal.

The Athletic’s Dan Duggan wrote in June that Mooney “looked like a role player” in practice, so he didn’t build much momentum this spring. But New York’s No. 2 WR job remains wide open.

Darius Slayton is coming off a quiet 2025 that included only 38.4 yards per game. He also missed the offseason program following core-muscle surgery.

Malachi Fields, Calvin Austin III, Odell Beckham Jr., and JuJu Smith-Schuster round out the competition. Beckham and Smith-Schuster aren’t guaranteed roster spots after landing no guaranteed money, while Austin profiles as more of a limited-role player at 162 pounds. Fields adds size (6’4, 218) and Round 3 draft capital, but his production profile gives little reason to expect a quick climb.

Malik Nabers will maintain the No. 1 role when healthy, but his recovery from ACL and meniscus tears leaves the opener in question. That gives Mooney a path to an early-season target boost, provided he beats out the rest of this shaky WR group.

Dart Could Be a Sizable Upgrade

Jaxson Dart’s Year 2 growth could help, but he still has plenty to prove as a passer. Among 42 QBs with 150+ attempts last season, Dart finished:

• 18th in catchable throw rate
• 29th in adjusted completion rate
• 29th in yards per attempt
• 34th in turnover-worthy throw rate

Mooney Knows the New OC

New OC Matt Nagy spent the past three seasons as Chiefs OC, but this is his first play-calling gig since 2021 in Chicago. That year, Mooney posted career-best numbers: 81 catches, 1,055 yards, and 4 TDs. (However, he benefited from five missed games from Allen Robinson, plus a thin pass-catching corps.)

That said, Nagy's play-calling history there doesn’t point to a pass-heavy approach. Across four seasons, his offenses finished 24th, 14th, eighth, and 17th in pass attempts and 27th, 11th, sixth, and 25th in pass rate, with Mitchell Trubisky and Justin Fields at QB.

We expect another run-first offense from Nagy, especially with Dart’s mobility adding to the ground game. Our projections have the Giants at a 54% pass rate, which would have ranked 25th last season.