Experts See Darnell Mooney Giving The 49ers Problems

The Chicago Bears will face one of the best defenses from last season on opening day at Soldier Field. There is no question the San Francisco 49ers are a talented group. They have two stars making up their front seven in Nick Bosa and Fred Warner. That doesn’t even include the underrated Arik Armstead and Azeez Al-Shaair. If one part of the defense can be called a weakness, it is their secondary. That is why Darnell Mooney shouldn’t be ignored.

49ers defensive backs only had six interceptions last season. That was one of the reasons they signed big-ticket free agent Charvarius Ward. However, it may not solve their biggest overall issue. Only two of their six primary contributors last season will be on the field when the game kicks off Sunday. Ward is an upgrade over Josh Norman, but K’Waun Williams left for Denver. Jaquiski Tartt is still a free agent but unwilling to return. Perhaps their best defensive back from last season, safety Jimmie Ward, will likely miss the game with a hamstring injury.

Maybe that is why ESPN has Mooney circled as somebody to watch since San Francisco was already vulnerable to the deep pass before those losses.

“The Lions. The Texans. The Bears. That’s your entire list of defenses that allowed more yards per deep pass attempt than the 49ers last season. Chicago receiver Darnell Mooney had multiple deep catches in seven different games last season and now has the WR1 role all to himself with Allen Robinson II in Los Angeles.”

Darnell Mooney doesn’t fear the 49ers.

He played a pretty good game against them in the meeting last year, catching six passes for 64 yards. The problem was the Bears weren’t able to get him free deep. Both attempts by Justin Fields were into double coverage. The trick will be accomplishing two goals. Chicago needs their offensive line to slow down the 49ers’ pass rush, and they need offensive coordinator Luke Getsy to get him into favorable matchups. That was something Matt Nagy never accomplished.

San Francisco figures to play mostly zone defense on Sunday. They’ll keep two safeties high, protecting against the deep ball. So the opportunities Darnell Mooney will get aren’t likely to be frequent. The Bears could look to free him up with heavy doses of play action. That was something else they didn’t do enough of last season. Mooney is capable of changing the game in one play. Finding it will be the key.