Darnell Mooney, Allen Lazard, Alec Pierce, and Wan'Dale Robinson. Who will remain a fantasy starter? Who won't?
Welcome to Week 6 of the 2024 Footballguys Roundtable. Our intrepid panel of fantasy pundits discusses and debates four topics every week. We split the conversation into separate features.
This week's roundtable features these four topics:
- Start, Hold, Cut, or Trade: The RB Edition
- Bench, Hold, Cut, or Trade: The WR Edition
- For Real, Fool's Gold: The WR Edition (see below)
- October Rebound Candidates
Let's roll.
For Real, Fool's Gold: WR Edition
Matt Waldman: Which receivers will remain starters in two-receiver formats? Which ones won't?
Where do you stand?
Sam Wagman: Darnell Mooney has proven himself a key piece of the Falcons' passing attack for Kirk Cousins. He has 30 targets in his past three games and gets targeted over and over in a passing offense modeled off a receiver-friendly scheme in Los Angeles, so it's very likely he continues to be prioritized.
Wan'Dale Robinson is the other half of a true two-man operation for the Giants this season. Between him and Malik Nabers, they are accounting for nearly 60% of the pass-catcher targets from Daniel Jones this season, and that's with Nabers missing a game in Week 5. That is staying power.
Allen Lazard is a polarizing figure. His efficiency is horrible, ranking 73rd in YPRR, 64th in Yards per Target, 92nd in separation, and only a 17.6% target share. Despite that, he is a borderline WR2 in fantasy points per game this season and gets peppered with high-value targets. Is it just the Aaron Rodgers connection? My worry: Davante Adams comes in and obliterates Lazard's target share.
Lastly, Pierce is the player I am least confident in on this list. He has done nearly 100% of his damage through the unsustainable deep targets he continues to get from the Indianapolis QBs, but eventually, teams will wise up to that play call and take it away.
Jeff Bell: Darnell Mooney has been excellent since a quiet Week 1, standing as the fantasy WR6 over the last four games. His deep speed is necessary when working in a rotation with Drake London, Kyle Pitts, and Ray-Ray McCloud III. Mooney is in the best opportunity of his career and paying off.
Wan'Dale Robinson emerged as the WR2, with Malik Nabers as the star. He is perfect for his role, allowing him to see heavy volume on safe targets. Darius Slayton rounds out the trio as a field stretcher, and his skillset, combined with Robinson's, allows Nabers to work all over the field. Robinson is a PPR-only play for me, but a cheat code in formats based on a whole point for receptions.
I like Alec Pierce quite a bit. The situation is frightening. Perhaps he is just Randy Moss, who will deliver a 65-yard touchdown weekly, but before his fourth-quarter explosion in Week 5, he was an afterthought behind Josh Downs, Michael Pittman Jr., and even Adonai Mitchell.
Given the boom/bust nature of Anthony Richardson's passing production, a legitimate argument can be made for Pierce as the guy to have, though much of his early production came without Downs. Pierce is a good NFL player, but these stories rarely play out to season-long fantasy relevance.
If Aaron Rodgers is playing GM, Davante Adams would be a Jet. Rodgers can play coy if he wants, but it would be surprising if he did not influence Robert Saleh's dismissal. They won't bench Garrett Wilson if Adams does happen and Mike Williams lurks. It makes Allen Lazard fool's gold.