Meet The Unlikely WR That Is Darnell Mooney's New Inspiration

Darnell Mooney wants to be great. That is evident in how hard the young wide receiver works. He was already talented when he joined the Chicago Bears with his 4.3 speed and outstanding quickness. Over the past two years, his game has evolved with improved strength and terrific route-running. His insatiable work ethic is what drives him forward. The next step is forging a connection with Justin Fields. Like any young player, it is always nice to seek out inspiration for how to go about his business. Mooney appears to have found his courtesy of a chance meeting with longtime insider Peter King. The NBC Sports staple has covered the NFL for decades and seen the best of the best play at the highest level. During their talk together, he told the Bears wide receiver a story. One that helps illustrate what it takes to gain the trust of a quarterback.

I said to him: “In that incredible New England comeback from 28-3 in the Super Bowl against Atlanta, guess which wide receiver had the most targets in the fourth quarter and overtime for the Patriots. Malcolm Mitchell.” That’s when his face got that way. Like, who is Malcolm Mitchell? Rookie. Played only one year in the NFL. Bad knee forced him to quit. I said, “When I asked Tom Brady about it, he said there was a reason for it: 112 practices.” All those comeback routes Mitchell ran late in the game and Brady targeted him on were because they’d run them a couple of hundred times in practice, and Brady trusted him implicitly.

Mitchell was a 4th round pick in the 2016 draft out of Georgia.

He'd had a strong rookie year with 461 yards and four touchdowns. His playoff run hadn't been anything special, though. New England trailed Atlanta by 19 points when the 4th quarter began. Mitchell caught passes of 15, 7, 18, 12, and 11 yards across three drives. Those drives ended with two touchdowns as a field goal. No way the Patriots win that game with Mitchell's clutch performance. Mooney loved the story.

“I’m happy you shared that story with me,” Mooney said. “I’m not sure how long it will take. But that makes perfect sense.”

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Darnell Mooney is already on the right track.

Everything reported from Halas Hall over the past two weeks indicates his chemistry with Fields is stronger than ever. The two are rarely out of sync. The second-year quarterback trusts nobody more. That often means a lot of targets will be coming Mooney's way. If he continues to get open as he has since last year, 2022 could be a true breakout season for him. Maybe then people will put some respect on his name. He may end up having the bright career Mitchell would've had if he'd stayed healthy in New England. It looked like things were trending that way. Another reminder football is a cruel business. Health matters as much as talent. Maybe even more so. Darnell Mooney has proven surprisingly durable thus far. Here is hope that the trend continues.