By producing a 1,000-yard season for the Chicago Bears, the ceiling for Darnell Mooney keeps rising. Now thrust into the team’s top target role, what are some realistic fantasy football expectations for the former Tulane product heading into the 2022 NFL season?
Across his first two years in the league, Mooney has been a solid threat in the passing attack, racking up 4 TDs and 98+ targets both seasons. But with Justin Fields getting more solid footing as the team’s starting QB, Mooney is a slam-dunk candidate for producing career-best numbers this upcoming year.
Darnell Mooney 2022 Fantasy Football Outlook
This year’s NFL Draft was seen as the likeliest spot that the Bears would add wide receiver talent, especially with plenty of mid-round options ripe for the taking. Yet they punted on this position until the 3rd round, where they selected Tennessee’s Velus Jones Jr. As a 25-year-old rookie, Jones was brought in as much-needed WR depth, even at an older age than most rookies.
Combined with the offseason acquisitions of Byron Pringle, Equanimeous St. Brown, and N’Keal Harry, and you have the makings of a muddy room with no real future assets in it, besides Mooney.
The results of the offseason produce one result – Mooney looks to be very untouchable on the passing game pecking order, making for a great third season.
The biggest element that can hold Mooney back is his QB play, plain and simple.
In a new offensive scheme led by former Packers positional coach Luke Getsy, the Bears will be running an offensive scheme that relies on heavy running back usage (and multiple), tight end usage (hello Cole Kmet), and a route tree that Mooney can definitely take advantage of. Mooney is and will never be a WR like what Davante Adams was in Green Bay, but the scheme elements that Getsy embodied from Nathaniel Hackett were ones that Adams excelled in.
With head coach Matt Eberflus heavily reliant on Getsy and his schematic elements, Mooney will likely be counted on early and often, especially since he and Fields have a long-standing, established relationship in the passing attack. Career numbers in targets, yardage, and receiving TDs are all in the cards for Mooney this season, even if Fields continues to struggle to adapt to the speed of the NFL.
Projecting Mooney’s impact in his third season is a bit tough, however, based on a lot of different aspects out of his control.
With no real depth (besides Kmet) surrounding him in the passing game, Mooney should command more double teams this year, paving the way for a few dud games. Even as game script will likely dictate that Fields will need to do even more this year with his arm, that will not always equate to improved efficiency and optimized results for Mooney, something to keep in mind.
As the Bears look to help Fields progress and right the ship in Chicago, Mooney will be an integral part of their offensive renaissance this season. WR2 draft capital with a top-20 ceiling (WR23 in PPR format last season) should be the going expectations for Mooney this season, but ultimately your confidence in the Bears’ offensive game plan and structure will dictate just how comfortable you are drafting him and how far you will reach for him.
2022 Projections – 158 targets / 93 receptions / 1,199 yards / 6 TDs / 12.9 yards per reception
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