Can Darnell Mooney Become A Fantasy Sleeper?
The Chicago Bears have a new quarterback. That’s good news for the rest of the offense. It’s only a matter of time before Justin Fields takes over. It’s time to start thinking about something that previously became unthinkable. Can the Chicago Bears actually carry a fantasy relevant wide receiver that isn’t named Allen Robinson? Watch out for Darnell Mooney. He has fantasy sleeper written all over him.
Mooney, 23, was taken in the 5th round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Tulane. If the Bears had better quarterback play, Mooney would have been a much bigger story. Quietly… this dude had a very good rookie season. Mooney reeled in 61 receptions for 631 yards and four touchdowns. That was with Nick Foles and Mitch Trubisky under center.
Regardless of how many games Andy Dalton starts, he’s still an upgrade over the old regime. If Justin Fields becomes the guy I think he can be, Mooney becomes really interesting. The fact that he put up those kind of numbers with bad quarterback play says pretty much all you need to know.
As a rookie, Mooney created 3.2 yards of separation per route run. That was among the better marks in the NFL a year ago. Imagine if he actually gets better? The speed is already elite at 4.38. The route running is there too. He’s never going to be the biggest guy in the world but who cares. Robinson is already the WR1 in Chicago. There are still more targets up for grabs.
Better quarterback play could mean everything for the secondary and tertiary targets in Chicago. Darnell Mooney has almost no buzz to his name right now and appears on a star trajectory. He could be a fantasy sleeper that helps win you your fantasy league.
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