Darnell Mooney’s rapport with Mitch Trubisky on display in Week 2 touchdown catch
Chicago Bears rookie wide receiver Darnell Mooney has quickly become an essential piece to the team’s offensive puzzle just two weeks into the 2020 season.
He made the biggest play of his young career in Sunday’s 17-13 win over the New York Giants when he secured a 15-yard touchdown catch with just 15 seconds remaining in the first half.
The fifth-round pick from Tulane was lauded as a steal for the Bears on draft weekend. He slid into Day 3 because of his physical makeup (5’11, 174 pounds), but he’s proven through two games that his speed and slippery route running will lead to success on Sundays despite his slender frame.
Mooney is developing faster than the Bears likely imagined because of the extra work he’s putting in with quarterback Mitch Trubisky. And it’s that extra work that’s built trust for critical moments like we saw in Week 2.
“Me and Mooney have gotten a lot of reps in between sets in practice and then after practice just getting on the same page, and when you have a young guy with that type of hunger, as a quarterback you trust him,” Trubisky said after the game.
“The O-line did a great job getting the time and just extending the play, I saw the DB had his back turned, he had no eyes on the football so I was kind of waving to Mooney to go out to the left and I put it in a spot and he did a great job attacking the football and coming back toward it and made an amazing catch.”
Mooney finished the game with three catches for 36 yards and the score and now has six catches for 74 yards and one touchdown through two games. He’s clearly surpassed Ted Ginn, Jr. on the depth chart and should be an even bigger part of Chicago’s gameplan moving forward.
