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Chicago Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney posted over 1,000 receiving yards in 2021 and was beginning to have some fantasy football relevance in 2022 with Justin Fields, but he picked up an injury in Week 12.
Some leagues are shallow and many fantasy managers have checked out since they've been eliminated from playoff contention, but Mooney's status has real significance in deeper leagues with a lot of teams still alive.
Is Mooney out for the season, and should you consider picking up Chase Claypool in his absence? We have the latest.
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Is Darnell Mooney Out For The Season?
Mooney is expected to miss the rest of the season with a serious ankle injury. While the team was optimistic, there was fear that the 25-year-old could require season-ending surgery. Those fears came to light Monday.
As a result, Chase Claypool, Byron Pringle, and Dante Pettis will battle for targets from whoever is under center for the rest of the year. It's unknown how long Justin Fields (shoulder) will be out, so all in all, it's a tough situation to navigate.
Should I Pickup Chase Claypool For Week 13?
With Trevor Siemian starting for Chicago, Claypool drew five targets, catching two of them for 51 yards. Of course, that stat line didn't produce a sexy fantasy outing, but there is at least some optimism since he targeted him deep down the field, where he made an impressive catch on Sauce Gardner.
Ultimately, whether you should pick him up or not depends on how deep the league is. In shallow leagues, he's a stay-away. The Chicago passing offense often isn't potent enough to even support one pass-catcher in fantasy, and it can rarely support two. Claypool and tight end Cole Kmet will likely be the top two targets for whoever is at quarterback, but it's difficult to project them to both have solid fantasy outings in the same week.
Fantasy managers who have lost several key wide receivers to injuries can consider picking him up, but he's far from a high-end option. At this point in the season, most players on the waiver wire don't have much value unless injuries to key players on good offenses happen. Even with Fields in the lineup, the passing offense is still one of the worst in the league. With anyone else starting for Chicago, we can't expect much better.
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