Chicago Bears: 3 Young players who look like emerging ballers
By Joseph Herff
Darnell Mooney, Wide Receiver
In the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft, the Bears took a shot on Tulane wide receiver Darnell Mooney. Mooney was intriguing with his speed and elusiveness but seems to lack the ideal size for a wide receiver. Mooney can make a huge play at any time though and defenses will start to respect that.
After impressing early against the Detroit Lions catching all three of his targets for 38 yards, Mooney earned more playing time and got to see the field against the New York Giants much more. His snap percentage went up from 32% to 60%. With this, he once again saw three targets catching all three for 36 yards and his first career NFL touchdown.
Against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 3, Mooney again saw the field more with a 62% snap count but didn’t do much with it. He received more targets (5), but only caught two of them as the other three were off target.
His speed is very valuable to this offense as he takes over the role Taylor Gabriel held last season. He could develop into a very solid deep threat and explosive playmaker for the Bears’ offense helping them take the next step this season and in the future.