Darnell Mooney had some of the biggest receptions of the game.
The Atlanta Falcons escaped Philadelphia with an exhilarating triumph in prime time, on Monday Night Football, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat in a scenario they have found themselves on the opposite side of all too often in the past.
It’s an early season changing victory, as the Birds were staring down the barrel of an 0-2 record had they not pulled that rabbit out of the hat. The offense also woke up in the second half, putting up a lot of points and fantasy points.
This will be the sixth year of me writing this article series. I do have to apologize for missing Week 1, as I was out of the country, but the way this goes is very simple. On a weekly basis, we will highlight two Falcons players in each game — one who was a standout fantasy performer and one who did not live up to expectations.
Only fantasy relevant players will be featured in this series. A wide receiver at the end of the bench or a 3rd string running back who isn’t on anybody’s fantasy team will not be looked at.
Expectations are of course always higher for players who were drafted at higher ADPs, so they will be under added scrutiny when dissecting fantasy performances.
Since this will be the unofficial debut of this series, one week after the season opener, I will just quickly announce that my “fantasy stud” from Week 1 was Bijan Robinson and that my “fantasy dud” from Week 1 was Drake London, for the sake of article continuity.
Now, let’s get into Week 2’s fantasy stud and fantasy dud.
Fantasy Stud/Dud 2023 History:
Past Studs: Bijan Robinson (5), Drake London (2), Falcons D/ST (2), Younghoe Koo (2) Tyler Allgeier (2), Kyle Pitts (1), Desmond Ridder (1), Jonnu Smith (1)
Past Duds: Kyle Pitts (5), Drake London (4), Bijan Robinson (3), Younghoe Koo (2), Tyler Allgeier (1), Desmond Ridder (1)
Yearly Fantasy Stud/Dud History:
Past Studs: Matt Ryan, Austin Hooper, Calvin Ridley, Cordarrelle Patterson, Bijan Robinson
Past Duds: Devonta Freeman, Mohamed Sanu, Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, Kyle Pitts
Fantasy Stud – Darnell Mooney
Stat Line: 3 catches, 88 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown: 14.8 standard league points; 17.8 PPR points
Darnell Mooney paced all of Atlanta’s receivers in this one, tying Drake London for the team lead with seven targets, while having a game high 88 receiving yards and scoring a touchdown.
Mooney had just three receptions in this one, and none until the latter stages of the third quarter, but they were all very crucial. The first was a 41-yard touchdown catch where he burned CJ Gardner-Johnson on a great route before breaking CGJ’s tackle and leaving him on the ground en route to the end zone. These were Atlanta’s first points that did not come from field goals.
The next two catches happened back to back on the game winning drive and went for 21 and 26 yards, respectively. They helped set up London’s eventual game winning touchdown reception.
Mooney seldom ever leaves the field, and is one of Cousins’ primary targets. He is available in the vast majority of leagues and would be a great receiver to have on your bench if still available in yours.
Dud
Kyle Pitts: 3 catches, 20 receiving yards: 2.0 standard league points; 5.0 PPR points
So far this season, the Falcons have a new quarterback, new play caller and a new system, all of which resulted in lofty expectations for Kyle Pitts coming into the campaign. So far, the results have been less than ideal.
While he did find the end zone last week, and has reeled in six of his seven targets, the University of Florida alum has thus far accumulated just 46 yards through the first two games of the season. This includes a 20-yard outing on Monday night where he was fifth on the team in both targets and yardage.
Cousins seems to be spreading the ball around in the early going and outside of Bijan Robinson, nobody on offense (from a fantasy perspective) seems very consistent so far. Kyle Pitts drafters can only hope that the tight end’s fantasy prospects will increase as Cousins continues getting healthier but given his historic track record, at least a little bit of worry is warranted, even at this early stage.