Darnell Mooney

Darnell Mooney
refer to caption
Mooney with the Bears in 2021
No. 1 – Atlanta Falcons
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1997-10-29) October 29, 1997 (age 27)
Gadsden, Alabama, U.S.
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High school:Gadsden (AL) City
College:Tulane (2016–2019)
NFL draft:2020 / round: 5 / pick: 173
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career NFL statistics as of Week 10, 2024
Receptions:259
Receiving yards:3,277
Receiving touchdowns:16
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Darnell Mooney (born October 29, 1997) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Tulane and was selected by the Chicago Bears in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL draft.

Early life

Mooney went to Gadsden City High School in Gadsden, Alabama.[1] Mooney played football and basketball for the Gadsden City Titans.[2]

College career

At Tulane, Mooney led the Green Wave in receiving in both his junior and senior seasons.[3][4] He caught 48 passes each year, totaling 993 yards in 2018 and 713 yards in 2019. Mooney scored 19 touchdowns in his college career.[5] At the NFL draft combine, Mooney ran a 40-yard dash time of 4.38 seconds.[6]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
5 ft 10+1⁄8 in
(1.78 m) 		176 lb
(80 kg) 		30+7⁄8 in
(0.78 m) 		9+5⁄8 in
(0.24 m)		 4.38 s 1.54 s 2.55 s 37.0 in
(0.94 m)		 10 ft 4 in
(3.15 m)		 9 reps
All values from NFL Combine[7][8]

Chicago Bears

Mooney was selected by the Chicago Bears with the 173rd pick in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL draft.[5] He signed a four-year rookie contract with the team on July 21.[9]

In his NFL debut, a 27–23 victory over the Detroit Lions, Mooney caught three passes from Mitchell Trubisky for 38 yards.[10] He scored his first touchdown the following week when he caught a 15-yard pass against the New York Giants.[11] In Week 15 against the Minnesota Vikings, Mooney caught four passes and a touchdown; the former elevated his season reception total to 46, enabling him to set the Bears franchise record for the most catches by a rookie, passing Harlon Hill's 45 in 1954.[12] Week 17 against the rival Packers, Mooney had his best game of his rookie season, catching 11 passes for 93 yards.[13] Mooney sustained an ankle injury near the end of the Packers game, which forced him to miss the Bears' playoff game against the New Orleans Saints.[14]

For the 2021 season, Mooney caught 81 passes for 1,055 yards and four touchdowns.[15] His best performance came in the last game, which came against the Vikings, where Mooney caught 12 passes for 126 yards.[16]

In 2022, Mooney started the first 12 games before suffering an ankle injury in Week 12. He was placed on injured reserve on November 29, 2022.[17] He finished with 40 receptions for 493 yards and two touchdowns.[18]

Mooney finished the 2023 Chicago Bears season with career lows of 31 receptions, 414 yards, one touchdown.[19] His best performance came in a Week 8 game against the New Orleans Saints, where he caught 5 passes for 82 yards.[19] Mooney sustained a concussion in Week 15 and missed the final two games of the season.[19] Mooney, a pending free agent, expressed interest in returning to Chicago, commenting, "I want to be here. I love Chicago. I love being here."[19]

Atlanta Falcons

On March 15, 2024, Mooney signed a three-year, $39 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons.[20] In Week 5 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football, Mooney caught 9-of-16 targets for 105 yards and two touchdowns, marking the first multi-touchdown game of his career.[21]

NFL career statistics

Legend
Bold Career high

Regular season

Year Team Games Receiving Rushing Fumbles
GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Att Yds Avg Lng TD Fum Lost
2020 CHI 16 9 61 631 10.3 53 4 4 20 5.0 16 0 1 0
2021 CHI 17 14 81 1,055 13.0 64 4 6 32 5.3 15 1 0 0
2022 CHI 12 12 40 493 12.3 56 2 1 2 2.0 2 0 0 0
2023 CHI 15 14 31 414 13.4 41 1 2 5 2.5 3 0 0 0
2024 ATL 10 10 46 684 14.9 41 5 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
Career 70 59 259 3,277 12.7 64 16 13 59 4.5 16 1 1 0

References

  1. ^ Couch, Teddy (September 13, 2020). "Gadsden City's Darnell Mooney makes NFL debut". Gadsden Times. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  2. ^ "Darnell Mooney's High School Timeline". MaxPreps.com. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  3. ^ "2018 Tulane Green Wave Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  4. ^ "2019 Tulane Green Wave Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  5. ^ a b Finley, Patrick (April 25, 2020). "NFL draft: Bears land Tulane speedster Darnell Mooney after another trade". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  6. ^ Melo, Justin (April 19, 2020). "Meet Darnell Mooney, Tulane's gem of a WR prospect". Draft Wire. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  7. ^ "Darnell Mooney". NFL. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  8. ^ "2020 Draft Scout Darnell Mooney, Tulane NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  9. ^ Mayer, Larry (July 21, 2020). "Bears sign all seven of their 2020 draft picks". Chicago Bears. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  10. ^ "Darnell Mooney Game Stats". www.nfl.com. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  11. ^ "Trubisky 2 TD passes, Barkley hurt as Bears edge Giants". ESPN.com. Associated Press. September 20, 2020. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  12. ^ Finley, Patrick (December 20, 2020). "Darnell Mooney: Bears offense has 'everything clicking'". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  13. ^ "Packers vs. Bears - Game Summary". ESPN.
  14. ^ Mayer, Larry (January 10, 2021). "Bears rule Smith, Mooney out of wild card game". ChicagoBears.com. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  15. ^ "Darnell Mooney 2021 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  16. ^ "Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings - January 9th, 2022". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  17. ^ Mayer, Larry (November 29, 2022). "Roster Moves: Bears place Mooney, Jackson on IR, sign Thomas to active roster". ChicagoBears.com.
  18. ^ "Darnell Mooney 2022 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  19. ^ a b c d Potash, Mark (December 14, 2023). "Disappointed Darnell Mooney taking the high road". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  20. ^ Waack, Terrin (March 15, 2024). "Falcons sign wide receiver Darnell Mooney". AtlantaFalcons.com.
  21. ^ Rothstein, Michael (October 3, 2024). "Falcons' Kirk Cousins hits Darnell Mooney for 2 TDs". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 4, 2024.