There is a lot of talk about what Darnell Mooney can be in his third NFL season. Ryan Poles has talked up Mooney from day one, but not many believed that the Chicago Bears would be keeping him as their wide receiver one for the foreseeable future.
When the draft and free agency came and went and Mooney was still the top option on the team the national media started to rail on the team for not doing enough. The argument is that Mooney is hardly a good wide receiver two, let alone a top dog.
While Mooney is a fifth-round pick, and he is only in his third NFL season, it is understandable that he does not have the flair of a top option yet. However, through his first two seasons, there is at least a sign that he could slip into that role.
Another fifth-round pick with very similar stats happened to follow a similar pattern. Below you can see the first two seasons
| Rk | Player | AV | Tgt | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD | Y/G | Ctch% | Y/Tgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stefon Diggs | 15 | 196 | 20 | 196 | 136 | 1623 | 11.9 | 7 | 62.4 | 69.4 | 8.3 |
| 2 | Darnell Mooney | 15 | 238 | 23 | 238 | 142 | 1686 | 11.9 | 8 | 51.1 | 59.7 | 7.1 |
Do the Chicago Bears have the next Stefon Diggs?
There is a small difference. Mooney started three more games than Diggs, who had some injury questions through two years. Still, it led to Mooney having 42 more targets. This has to be kept in mind when seeing the similarities elsewhere but also can be a function of how poor the offense was.
Either way, Mooney finished his first two years with six more catches, 63 more yards, and one more touchdown. The yards per reception are the exact same.
Of course, yards per game, yards per target, and catch rate show some differences, with Diggs being more efficient.
When you view drops, Diggs and Mooney both had six in their first two seasons. The difference is contested targets. Diggs was 4-5 on contested passes through two seasons, hardly being put in that spot. Darnell Mooney is 8-34. The rate is poor for sure, and Mooney has to improve here.
Diggs was 18-28 in this area during his third season. Still, it is worth noting that through two seasons he was not in that spot. Part of it can be that Diggs was getting open more than Mooney. Part of it is likely that Mooney was getting far more attention because the Bears did not have other options to stretch the field.
While Mooney was getting as a top deep threat, Diggs was a secondary option early into his career. While Mooney has to improve here, some of the efficiency metrics between Mooney and Diggs can be explained.
Beyond that, Mooney turning into Diggs would be an outstanding best-case scenario outcome. The fact that he is in the conversation after two seasons speaks to the progress Mooney has made from a fifth-round pick until now. Even without the Diggs-like jump in year three, there can be some trust in the idea that he can become a team’s top option.