Perhaps one of the biggest surprises of the Chicago Bears’ off-season was the first glimpse of Darnell Mooney. Fans hadn’t seen the wide receiver in any capacity since he went on injured reserve with a broken ankle last year. That made the shock all the more jarring when he surfaced in a photograph with teammates Cole Kmet and Justin Fields after a workout. He was shirtless in the video, and it didn’t take long to understand why. Mooney displayed a muscular frame both across his chest and arms.
It was obvious he’d been hitting the weight hard during the off-season, no doubt spurred by his inability to do any running while his ankle healed. Don’t forget Mooney was around 176 lbs when he arrived in the NFL. Based on his newfound bulk, it wouldn’t be surprising if he were somewhere around 190. Fields told Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times that he’s been giving the wide receiver a hard time about it. He better be careful about adding too much muscle, or it could attract unwanted attention.
“We made a few jokes, saying that the NFL’s gonna drug test him soon because it looks like he’s been on a few steroids,” Fields said with a smile. “He’s been working hard, trying to get back right. We always joked with him last year on how skinny he was. So he’s definitely put on some weight and ready to go. I’m excited to see his comeback and I know he’s gonna come back better than he was.”
Darnell Mooney may have finally solved his biggest issue.
Nobody debated his ability to stretch defenses with his speed or his route-running skills. The problem was always his size. They felt he didn’t have the necessary muscle mass to challenge bigger corners in man-to-man coverage. That might no longer be a concern. It’s clear he has worked to add more power to his upper body. That should allow him to fight through jams at the line of scrimmage. It should also make him more effective as a run blocker. The Bears’ wide-zone system needs good blocking on the perimeter to fully unlock its potential.
One thing is clear. Darnell Mooney is determined to rebound from his frustrating 2022 season. He sees himself as one of the best in the league. Many laugh at those claims after he failed to crack 500 yards last year. That motivation, along with the looming expiration of his rookie contract, should see him come out of the gates firing in 2023. He should have tons of opportunities thanks to the arrival of D.J. Moore, who should pull coverages away from him, similar to Allen Robinson in 2020 and 2021.
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Mooney has been very committed to his craft since he arrived here. I also remember the JUGS video that @russell mentioned, endearing me to him. Dude is a grinder and seems to be a quiet leader with his work ethic. I would love to see him thrive and have a career year, but also re-sign with the Bears! I also find it a little comical that Jerry didn’t have Claypool on his list. If it were me handing out extensions it’d be Mooney>Claypool all day!
From Gloria Williams, to Anne Smith now Julia Golden.. The same spammer keeps changing its name and thinks it fools us!! LOL! GO AWAY SPAMMER!!
Holy Shit!
TYVM Erik!
Gloria is gone?
fingers crossed… no PED. Mooney is VERY committed to being GREAT, too(Like JF). I remember a video of him… in his apartment.. with a JUGGS machine..starting on a balancing ball. THAT is committment! since he was hurt and couldn’t run I’m pretty sure he focused on adding muscle mass… happy for him… not a big fan of players with no shirt on… it’s almost like he should have kept one on… so he could SHOCK an unsuspecting Db…. when he out muscled him. Now he’s on their radar as a “mini” DK metcalf. : ( but if I worked THAT… Read more »
Mooney is going to eclipse all expectations in 2023. Teams are going to face a very dangerous predicament when they face the Bears in 2023. The Bears will have the ability to field a 3-4 headed receiving threat with DJ Moore, D Mooney, C Kmet, T Scott, R Tonyan, V Jones, E St Brown combined with a very proficient running attack featuring K Herbert, D Foreman, R Johnson and the very dangerous J Field who has the breakaway ability to take it to the house anytime he scrambles or takes off on a designed QB run. With all the attention… Read more »