Bears receiver Darnell Mooney will write down his goals for his second year — touchdowns, catches and yards — closer to the start of the regular season. But he already knows what he wants.
“This year I just want to be an explosive player,” he said. “I want to be dominant. I want to be a known factor, a known name.”
He said he doesn’t care about the adulation, just the respect. He wants there to be no confusion about what he brings to the field.
“It’s really an expectation for myself, knowing what I’m able to do,” he said. “Taking a slant for 80 yards — like, I want to be able to do that, just for myself. Not for anyone else.”
For all Mooney was able to accomplish last season — his 61 catches were tied for the fourth-most in NFL history by a rookie drafted in Round 5 or later — he never really got that opportunity.
“I really don’t think I was able to use my talent, like, my speed …” said Mooney, whose longest catch was 53-yarder in the season finale against the Packers. “I didn’t have anything breaking out where I was, like, catching a ball and using my speed or using how fast I am.”
That would be the next logical step for the fifth-round draft pick who emerged as the Bears’ No. 2 receiver last year at this time. He finished with 631 yards and four touchdowns.
“I think we all knew deep down inside he had that ability to do it,” coach Matt Nagy said. “We weren’t sure if he would do it — and he did. But to everybody that knows Darnell Mooney, you realize that it doesn’t surprise you because he’s as hard of a worker as there is and he cares more than anybody.”
He’s chosen the right mentor. Mooney has spent the last year following around Allen Robinson, perhaps the most respected player in the Bears locker room. Thursday night, Nagy texted the two of them pictures of a play to give them pointers about the proper technique. They responded right away.
“He challenges himself each and every day to get better on specifics and details when it comes to route running, when it comes to certain catches and things like that,” Robinson said. “He’s a guy who wants to get better and he’s very eager about it. So I think whenever guys have that mindset to get better each and every day to continue challenge themselves, the sky is the limit for him.”
Mooney isn’t the only Bears receiver looking to turn on the jets. When the Bears signed former Olympic long jumper and 49ers receiver Marquise Goodwin, he became the fastest player on the team. Damiere Byrd, who had 604 receiving yards for the Patriots last year, will bounce between the slot and outside receiver spots. Rookie Dazz Newsome will look to replace Anthony Miller in the slot, too, when he returns from a broken collarbone.
“You throw in the 40 times of those guys — and these are 40 times that show up on the field, with Goodwin and Byrd and Mooney,” general manager Ryan Pace said. “Those guys can fly, and I think it opens things up for us.”
If they do, more people will know Mooney’s name.
“I’m hoping that they just believe that I’m going to go out here and ball, and to watch out for [me],” Mooney said. “But just having an understanding that I’m going to be a threat on the field and just respect it. Or I’m going to feel disrespected — and that’s going to be a problem.”
