Chicago Bears rookie wide receiver Darnell Mooney is off to a great start in 2020, even if his stats don’t reflect it.
Through three games, Mooney’s totaled just eight catches for 93 yards but his snap count suggests he’s already a critical piece to the Bears offense. He’s run the second-most plays of all Chicago’s wide receivers; only Allen Robinson’s logged more snaps.
Mooney’s ascent up the Bears’ depth chart may seem like a surprise, considering he was a fifth-round pick from Tulane who fell in the draft because of his 175-pound frame. For coach Matt Nagy, Mooney’s simply outworking the traditional rookie.
“He never gets tired. It’s unbelievable,” Nagy told reporters Wednesday. “The kid just runs and runs and runs. And I think what you’re seeing now is the next test. It’s ‘OK, we’re playing the Detroit Lions, game 1. Is the game going to be too big for him? Is he going to just start doing things different because the game’s’ … no, didn’t do it.
“So that’s probably why some more reps and more snaps and a guy that has just less reps than Allen Robinson is to his credit. This kid works hard … on a day off, he’s walking over and trying to get jugs machines in. All the extra work that a lot of rookies don’t do, this kid’s doing it, like, every single day. It’s awesome. We like that, we want to keep that going.”
It’s that kind of work ethic that will keep Mooney in the NFL, and maybe even the Bears’ starting lineup, for a very long time.