At the point when a player is chosen in the fifth round of the NFL Draft, desires are naturally low. Day-3 picks are typically developmental possibilities who spend time as a deep hold or on the practice squad.
That isn’t the situation for wide receiver Darnell Mooney, the Bears’ fifth-round rookie out of Tulane.
Mooney arranged for 21 snaps in Week 1’s triumph over the Lions and got each of the three of his objectives for 38 yards.
Bears coaches were praising him enthusiastically on Monday.
“The lights were not too bright for him yesterday, not at all,” Matt Nagy said. “It was very encouraging to see where he’s at.”
Mooney fell in the 2020 draft in view of size concerns. His stature isn’t the issue (5’11). Rather, it’s his weight. He’s only 175 pounds.
Mooney demonstrated rapidly in Week 1 that weight is only a number when you can run the manner in which he does.
“It’s like he’s a 5 year veteran in this league already,” wide receivers coach Mke Furrey told reporters.
The Bears marked veteran Ted Ginn in free organization to furnish the passing game with the speed component that was lost when Taylor Gabriel was given up in the offseason. Ginn will have a major function as the season advances, however it could be Mooney who forms into that speed danger. He ran a 4.38 40-yard run in the approach the draft.
It’s just a single week, and Mooney will inevitably encounter the developing agonies that join being a rookie in the NFL. Yet, for a passing game looking for weapons to rise close by Allen Robinson and Anthony Miller, there’s an immense opportunity for Mooney to become a shockingly productive player in 2020.
