Do the Chicago Bears have a star in the making in Darnell Mooney?

Chicago Bears rookie Darnell Mooney will look to build on his strong debut

The Chicago Bears selected Darnell Mooney in the 5th round of this past draft in April. He was a four year player out of Tulane, and what he lacks in size he makes up for with his skills for the game.

The Bears had a thriller with the Lions this past Sunday and even in his limited play-time, I think Darnell showed he can be a player in this league. He played in 21 total snaps which were good for 32 percent of the game.

For reference, Wims had 23 snaps, Miller had 27, and Ginn had 28. I believe this shows that the Bears not only have faith in him but that they have plans of moving him up the depth chart throughout the season.

The biggest obstacle Mooney may face will be his size, at only 5’11, and 174 pounds. Teams are going to look to get physical with the rookie to see what he is about. His best asset has got to be his speed.

Mooney ran a 4.3 40, getting up to 18 MPH, while also having a solid 37 inch vertical. Mooney was the 25th receiver taken in this historic WR class, but some people considered the Tulane standout a bit of a hidden gem.

He really broke out his junior year at Tulane, catching 48 balls, on 993 yards, with eight touchdowns. He also posted an absurd 20.7 YPC and showed scouts what his game is all about. He came back down to earth a little in his senior year still posting 48 catches, for 713 yards, and 5 touchdowns.

What can the Chicago Bears expect from Mooney going forward?

Like I already talked about above, Mooney had limited playing time, but still showed what he can do by making people miss as he did here.

I don’t want to get too ahead of myself here because it was just one game.  However, I think it’s fair to assume Mooney will get much more playing time as the season progresses. Whether it’s from the coaches or people who cover the team, there has been praise for Mooney all camp long and there was more from this past Sunday.

Ted Ginn will most likely be the main slot guy going forward but if Darnell keeps playing well he might be getting more and more snaps each week.