4 Chicago Bears players to ‘buy high’ in fantasy football this season
By Dakota Wayne
Chicago Bears Wide Receiver: Darnell Mooney
2021 Ranking: WR50 (Overall ADP: 132.2)
With the Chicago Bears’ offense having a lot of struggles that stemmed from poor quarterback play and each wide receiver was negatively affected.
However, Darnell Mooney is a guy that will produce in your fantasy leagues, barring anything catastrophic.
With common looks of Darnell Mooney beating defenders for what would be big gains, the other main factor, a quarterback, would usually drop the ball — or in this case, over-throw the target by six to eight yards.
Not only is the likely increase in quarterback efficiency going to help Darnell Mooney in fantasy, but the loss of Anthony Miller to the Houston Texans might actually have been a good thing for Mooney.
Allen Robinson has a pretty comfortable hold on the WR1 position for the Chicago Bears, however, it’s seemingly like Mooney is a clear-cut WR2 now. Being able to get a WR2 and likely breakout player for many going into 2021, around pick 51 is an absolute steal in my opinion.
Even though Mooney failed to break out in his rookie year, the reasoning for that can be a multitude of different things. One of the easiest to point a finger at is something said earlier where the Chicago Bears truly lacked consistency at quarterback.
Not only that, but the whole offense seemed to disappear midway through last season, and it seemed like team morale was at an all-time low.
Darnell Mooney’s 2020 Stats:
9 games, 98 targets, 61 receptions, 631 yards, 4 TDs
Similar players above Darnell Mooney’s ADP:
- Will Fuller V (WR39, overall ADP: 100.8)
2020 Season: 11 games, 75 targets, 53 receptions, 879 yards, 8 TDs - Antonio Brown (WR40, overall ADP: 103.7)
2020 Season: 8 games, 62 targets, 45 receptions, 483 yards, 4 TDs - Marquise Brown (WR47, overall ADP: 119.0)
2020 Season: 16 games, 100 targets, 58 receptions, 769 yards, 8 TDs - Henry Ruggs III (WR48, overall ADP: 128.0)
2020 Season: 13 games, 43 targets, 26 receptions, 452 yards, 2 TDs
While Mooney’s numbers don’t jump off of the page and bite you, it’s important to remember that he was a WR2/3 on an inconsistent offense. If I’m drafting a team and any of those guys are above Mooney, I’d have no problem buying high on Darnell Mooney.
In 2021, while speculation has a lot to do with it, the offense looks like a more fantasy-friendly roster than it did even a season ago.
It’s likely that Justin Fields will play in the 2021 season, however, the “When?” is important in determining how high to buy Darnell Mooney. Even with Andy Dalton slinging the pigskin, I see Mooney being one of the bigger breakout players to buy high on in 2021.