UPDATE: ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Mooney will miss a “few weeks.”
During Friday’s practice, Darnell Mooney suffered an injury after diving for a pass down the right sideline.
Later in the day, Zach Klein of WSB Atlanta reported that Mooney injured his shoulder and will miss most of training camp.
Atlanta’s training camp will go until August 13th, with the last two dates joint practices with the Tennessee Titans.
In addition, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Atlanta signed wide receiveer DJ Chark to a one-year deal.
The signing of Chark was likely just for depth, but the timing does raise the antennas.
Drake London is the alpha of the Falcons wide receivers, and he garnered 157 targets last season. Mooney was second on the team with 107 targets. Mooney had an aDOT of 12.2 while London was at 10.9. Ray-Ray McCloud is the slot receiver and had a 6.8 aDOT on 87 targets.
Mooney is 5’10”, 176 pounds and takes the top off defenses with his 4.38 speed. Chark is 6’3″, 199 pounds and takes the top off defenses with his 4.34 speed. Chark has a career aDOT of 13.4 over seven seasons in the NFL.
Back in 2019, Chark caught 73-of-118 targets for 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns. It’s been downhill ever since, culminating in four receptions for 31 yards and a touchdown last season with the Los Angeles Chargers. In the two prior seasons, he finished with 502 and 525 yards with three and five touchdowns with the Detroit Lions and Carolina Panthers.
Chark’s still only 28 years old and would likely assume the Mooney role if Mooney’s injury is serious. I wouldn’t expect a large target share for Chark, though. London and McCloud would be the biggest beneficiaries.
