Darnell Mooney was a wonderful revelation to the Chicago Bears when he arrived in 2020. As things unfolded during that summer in training camp, comparisons started leaking out of Halas Hall. The most common was a young DeSean Jackson. It made sense. Mooney had the same size and blazing speed as the former Pro Bowler. If the comparison held true, then the Bears may have gotten themselves the biggest steal of the entire draft.
Except one member of the coaching staff took his expectations a step further. Former wide receivers coach Mike Furrey was reportedly Mooney’s biggest cheerleader in the Bears’ war room leading up to the draft. It wasn’t only the talent that had him excited. It was the work ethic—the drive. Furrey saw another receiver in Mooney’s game too. His was slightly more renowned, as he explained to Dan Pompei of The Athletic.
“In the spring of 2020, then-Bears wide receivers coach Mike Furrey studied a strong draft class of receivers. He slowed down when researching Mooney, whose mindset reminded him of his former Rams teammate Isaac Bruce, now a Hall of Famer. Furrey pushed for the Bears to draft him.
Says Furrey, “His desire and passion are rare.”
Darnell Mooney being 80% of Isaac Bruce would be a dream.
The former 2nd round pick arrived in St. Louis at a time when the Rams were the laughing stock of the NFL. He had an uneventful rookie season in 1994. Then in 1995, he exploded for over 1700 yards and 13 touchdowns. He would go on to amass 15,208 yards and 91 touchdowns in his career and had the winning score in the team’s 1999 Super Bowl triumph. All of that happened despite him never being the biggest (6’0, 188 lbs) or fastest guy on the field. He merely wanted it more than everybody else.
If Darnell Mooney becomes close to that good, the Bears receiving record will be his before he turns 30. It will also silence all those critics who don’t believe he is anything close to a #1 receiver. He’s heard that talk his entire life. Every time it gets loud, he takes his game up another notch. The scariest part is he’s the leading man now. Allen Robinson is gone. He has a strong connection with Justin Fields. There is a good chance a lot of footballs will be coming his way this year.
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