Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney got fans’ hopes up in his first season with the team in 2024. While it wasn’t the most productive season of his career, it was solid. He started 16 games because he suffered a shoulder injury at the end of the season that kept him out of their Week 18 game.
However, the injuries that plagued him earlier in his career seemed to be gone, and he scored the most touchdowns in a season during his five years in the league. But now the injury bug is back, and fans are wondering if he will play in Week 7.
Will Falcons WR Darnell Mooney Play in Week 7
However, 2025 got off to a rocky start for Mooney. The former fifth-round pick has only played in three games, though the first six weeks, for 145 snaps. Mooney didn’t make much of an impact in those three games either, making seven receptions for 79 yards.
Last year, it was easy to dismiss his earlier struggles as a result of playing for a poor Chicago Bears offense. He was drafted by the Bears in 2020, and the 2021 season was a productive one; however, his subsequent years were marred by numerous injuries and inconsistent gameplay.
This season’s troubles started off early with Mooney injuring his shoulder during training camp. That kept him from playing until Week 2. Head coach Raheem Morris and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson gradually added Mooney back into the lineup.
During the Week 3 loss to the Carolina Panthers, Mooney was targeted just 11 times, catching four of those passes for 44 yards. Then, in the Falcons’ Week 4 win over the Washington Commanders, he suffered a hamstring injury after one catch for 15 yards.
Mooney was ruled out for Weeks 5 and 6, and fans wonder if he will be back for Week 7.
The Falcons will head west to play the San Francisco 49ers in Week 7 during Sunday Night Football. In advance of that game, Morris and the team released their depth chart, and Mooney is listed as one of the three starting wide receivers along with Drake London and Ray-Ray McCloud III.
However, the team notes that this is the same depth chart released for Week 6, and Mooney didn’t practice last week or play in that game because of the hamstring injury.
Players’ differences between their actual points vs expected points (+ regression candidates)
Jerry Jeudy -5.6
Chris Olave -4.5
Chase Brown -4.3
Isaiah Bond -3.9
Darnell Mooney -3.9
Davante Adams -3.5
Alvin Kamara -3.1
Christian McCaffrey -2.8
Kyler Murray -2.7 pic.twitter.com/saPynTVnNb— Ryan Linkletter (@blitzlink_) October 15, 2025
Mooney hasn’t lived up to fans’ hopes and expectations during the 2025 season, but it is challenging to determine if that is strictly due to the injuries or for some other reason.
While Mooney might be listed on the current depth chart, he has not been practicing so far this week. That may well signal another week without him, and for a Falcons offense that has a grade of C on PFSN’s Offense Impact metric, they could use the 2024 version of Mooney back in the game.
