Darnell Mooney

New York Giants·#1

Pos WRHt 5'11"Wt 172 lbExp 5 yrCollege Tulane

WR rankings →

Model Score

65.8 MODEL

2021

70.1

2022

69.0

2023

64.8

2024

71.3

2025

65.8

How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →

Season Stats · 15 games

3277th

Rec

44365th

Rec Yds

185th

Rec TD

7251st

Targets

29.574th

Yds/Gm

5.590th

Fantasy PPG

Advanced Metrics EPA & Next Gen Stats

1.14643rd

EPA / target

3.1 yd31st

Avg separation

6.3 yd

Avg cushion

-0.695th

YAC over exp

40.7%

Catch %

STM Take

Two career bright spots (#36 with Chicago in 2021, #27 with Atlanta in 2024) sandwich three tier 8 finishes (#75, #79 prior, #91 in 2025). The 2025 game log has one Wk 12 16.4 PPR spike against a backdrop of mostly sub-7 PPR weeks. The career arc is bounded by QB stability: when the QB is good he produces tier 4-5; when the QB is unstable he collapses to tier 8. At 28 the trajectory is what Michael Penix Jr.'s 2026 development determines.

Mooney came out of Tulane as Chicago's 5th-round pick (173rd overall) in 2020. His Bears career produced one tier 5 (#36 in 2021, 81 catches for 1,055 yards) season as the lone bright spot in a four-year stretch dominated by Chicago QB chaos. He signed a 3-year, $39M deal with Atlanta in 2024 and immediately produced a tier 4 (#27) breakout (64 catches for 992 yards) with Kirk Cousins post-Achilles. The 2025 #91 (tier 8) collapse came with Cousins benched and Michael Penix Jr. taking the offense in a different direction.

Strengths

2021 Chicago season (81 catches, 1,055 yards) plus 2024 Atlanta breakout (64 catches, 992 yards) confirms genuine WR2 ceiling when QB play cooperates.
Sub-4.4 forty plus the 4-year, $39M contract through 2026 establishes both physical profile and franchise commitment.

Concerns

Three tier 8 finishes in five seasons (#75 in 2023, plus the 2025 #91) shows the floor when the QB room collapses.
Drake London absorbs the alpha target share; Mooney's WR2 ceiling depends on Penix Jr. distributing volume to the field-stretching WR2 role.

What to watch: Whether his 2026 target share clears 7 per game with Michael Penix Jr. as the locked starter, the threshold he needs for any return to tier 4 territory.