The 2020 draft class is already paying dividends for the Chicago Bears. Rather crazy when one thinks about it. No 1st round pick. No true offseason with minicamps, OTAs, and the preseason scrapped due to COVID-19. Yet here they are. Jaylon Johnson is one of the best rookie defenders in the NFL at cornerback. The bigger surprise though has to be 5th round pick Darnell Mooney.
Most people weren’t familiar with the wide receiver out of Tulane when the Bears traded up to grab him. All they knew was he had a lot of speed. In the following weeks, they soon found out that he was a big favorite of wide receivers coach Mike Furrey who “pounded the table” for him. That was followed by the rookie standing out in training camp almost immediately.
Now after a month into the season? Mooney ranks second on the team with 145 yards and a touchdown. He’s already becoming a fan favorite. As it turns out, all of this may have been destined to happen. Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune came across a big revelation during an in-depth column on the Bears rookie.
“Larry Mooney, Darnell’s father, was born in Chicago, and Darnell remembered flashes of the city from visiting when he was growing up — the skyscrapers, the “L,” the pizza, the hot dogs. Before that home opener against the New York Giants, Darnell hadn’t driven through the city since his father died of complications from leukemia before Darnell’s junior year of high school.
Larry didn’t get to see his son’s athletic career really take off, but Darnell thinks playing for the Bears would have made his father happy.”
Darnell Mooney with the 🔥 route and catch @Darnell_M1 @ChicagoBears pic.twitter.com/r735MosgHC
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) October 4, 2020
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Darnell Mooney is scratching the surface of what he can do
What makes Mooney so exciting is he isn’t just a one-trick pony. People just assume that he makes plays purely due to his speed. That couldn’t be further from that truth. He’s surprisingly adept at running routes. Something he worked on tirelessly in college and then leading up to this season. It’s why head coach Matt Nagy has put so much trust him with playing time this early.
If he’s this good already. It’s scary to think how much better he’ll get with experience. He and quarterback Nick Foles seem to have some chemistry. That could be a combination that yields results as the two start to get on the same page. Football can be an amazing sport sometimes. Especially when it comes to how fates intertwine.