Darnell Mooney

Mooney has already proven himself a gem of a fifth-round pick, earning a starting job as a rookie and clearing 1,000 yards in Year 2. He never had that many yards in a season in run-first offenses at Tulane, and he might've gone undrafted if not for a 4.38 40 at the 2020 Combine. The time is less impressive given his slender frame, but Mooney hasn't been bullied too much by defensive backs, nor has he been pigeon-holed as a mere deep threat. In fact, Mooney has caught only 10 of 46 targets 20-plus yards downfield in his career (three of 23 as a rookie, seven of 23 last season). And that's without any drops on the downfield targets, many of which were misfires or miscommunications. The good news is that Mooney showed rapport last year with rookie quarterback Justin Fields, who never got it going with Allen Robinson (now on the Rams). In addition to seeing more cumulative targets, Mooney easily outpaced Robinson in targets per game (8.2 to 5.5). Now the Bears have Mooney in Year 3, Fields in Year 2 and head coach Matt Eberflus in Year 1, with former Packers QBs coach Luke Getsy taking over as offensive coordinator. It should be an improvement on the Matt Nagy era, if nothing else, and there's no question about Mooney's status as the No. 1 receiver sans Robinson. Read Past Outlooks