When Ryan Poles arrived as general manager last year, he immediately identified wide receiver Darnell Mooney as a core piece of the Bears’ future. Mooney was coming off a 1,000-yard season and looked like he was still ascending.
His production dipped to 493 yards and two touchdowns last season before getting hurt, however, and this season he has just 351 yards and a touchdown. His 29.3 yards and 2.1 catches per game are both career lows.
If anything, it seemed like Mooney’s numbers would go up this season thanks to the attention DJ Moore draws.
“Mooney’s doing a lot of really good things,” offensive coordinator Luke Getsy said. “DJ’s getting a lot of the action, [tight end Cole Kmet is] getting a lot of the action, and then Mooney’s been sprinkled in there.”
It certainly doesn’t help that the Bears have thrown the sixth-fewest passes in the NFL this season.
Mooney, 26, is in the last season of his rookie contract. After making $3.6 million over his first four seasons, Spotrac projects his market value to be a four-year, $42 million deal.
