Darnell Mooney

New York Giants·#17

Pos WRHt 5'11"Wt 177 lbExp 6 yrCollege Tulane

Updated September 21, 2026

WR rankings →

Model Score

71.5 MODEL

2020

69.3

2021

73.9

2022

74.2

2023

72.1

2024

75.1

2025

71.5

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 · 1 games

Rec

Rec Yds

Rec TD

Targets

27.0

Yds/Gm

4.7

Fantasy PPG

Advanced Metrics EPA & Next Gen Stats

1.217

EPA / target

0.0 yd

Avg separation

0.0 yd

Avg cushion

0.0

YAC over exp

0.0%

Catch %

Draft & College

Round 5, pick 173 · Chicago Bears · 2020

Tulane (American Athletic)

Taken

#173

where he actually went

Consensus board

161st

average of the public big boards that spring

Our college model

#196

among WR in our college data

He went about where consensus had him.

In college · 2016-2019 · 44 games

150 rec, 2,429 yds, 16 TD, 16.2 yds/rec

Covers the college seasons in our data, which does not always reach back to a player's first year.

Coming out

4.38s

40 yd

9 reps

Bench

37"

Vertical

124"

Broad

Comps

College career

his college career vs theirs

Brandon Lloyd86%Mardy Gilyard85%Damian Williams84%

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.