Bears WR Darnell Mooney is sidelined for OTAs this week. He's still working back from the left ankle injury he suffered last November. HC Matt Eberflus said Mooney is "progressing" but didn't provide any other details. We'll see when Mooney is able to get back on the field. But he's not an intriguing fantasy pick in a run-heavy Bears offense that added WR D.J. Moore this offseason.
Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune shared details on the health of Bears WR Darnell Mooney. Recall that he suffered multiple torn ligaments in his left ankle last November. “From what I hear, Mooney is doing well and there is a chance he will be fully cleared before the conclusion of the offseason program, which ends with mandatory minicamp in mid-June,” Biggs said. “If not, it’s expected he will be at full speed for the start of training camp.” Good to know. Mooney, the WR58 in FFPC best ball ADP, is set to enter a contract season. The 25-year-old watched as Chicago added D.J. Moore and Round 4 WR Tyler Scott this offseason. See where Mooney slots in our updated 2023 WR rankings.
The Bears selected Cincinnati WR Tyler Scott in Round 4 of the 2023 NFL Draft. Scott played RB in high school – and it shows. He’s excellent with the ball in his hands, combining vision, contact balance, and burst to average 6.6 yards after the catch per reception last year. He also has the speed to win deep, confirmed by a 4.44-second 40 time at the Combine. Scott is a raw prospect with just 1 season of big college production and plenty of work to do in the route-running department. But he has just three years of experience at WR and is only 21, so he should have more room for improvement than your typical rookie receiver. At 5’10 and 177 pounds, he’s likely destined for the slot as a pro. But he can be a dangerous after-catch weapon with seam-stretching ability from the inside. This isn’t a great landing spot for Scott on the run-heavy Bears. He figures to open the season behind at least D.J. Moore, Darnell Mooney, and Chase Claypool. Consider Scott more of a dynasty stash than redraft factor.
The Bears agreed to a trade sending the number one overall pick in the 2023 draft to the Panthers in exchange for the ninth overall pick in 2023, the 61st pick in 2023, two future picks, and WR D.J. Moore. There's certainly a lot to take in here. GM Ryan Poles managing to swing a high-end WR in Moore to go with QB Justin Fields is a tremendous boost for the team's future. Any doubts surrounding Fields and his cast of receivers are gone, solidifying his status as a top-end dynasty QB. There's got to be bad news for someone here, though. Between this move and the deadline deal that brought WR Chase Claypool over from the Steelers, it's hard to imagine a ton of fantasy upside for WR Darnell Mooney in this offense now. TE Cole Kmet also loses some value now that he seems doomed to be stuck between third or fourth in the pecking order for targets. As far as the Panthers are concerned, this is a significant investment made into finally solving their QB woes. Going up to number one enables the franchise to put an end to exploring retread experiments as they tried with QBs Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield. New HC Frank Reich will have his pick of a young signal-caller to build toward the future with. One of either Alabama QB Bryce Young or Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud feels like a natural fit to plug in right away to a pro-style offense. Unfortunately, without Moore in the mix, this Panthers' offense is devoid of weapons for whoever ends up under center. It's tough to say right now who, if anyone, emerges from this Panthers' offense as a fantasy contributor. Free agency and the NFL Draft in April will help color in those missing pieces of information. Keep up with our coverage here at Draft Sharks as the offseason continues to unfold.
Bears HC Matt Eberflus confirmed on Monday that WR Darnell Mooney will miss the rest of the 2022 season with the left ankle injury he suffered in Sunday's loss to the Jets. We'll look for further details on Mooney's timetable to return, but he should at least be ready for 2023 training camp. Mooney finishes his 3rd NFL season with a 40-493-2 line on 61 targets. He's stretched as a #1 WR but can certainly be a quality #2 for the rebuilding Bears.
Bears WR Darnell Mooney "likely" needs season-ending surgery to repair torn ligaments in his ankle, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. If that's the case, Chicago will be without the guy who drew 26.6% of the team's targets over the first 10 games of the season. It'd open up opportunity for WR Chase Claypool and TE Cole Kmet. But this will remain a low-volume passing game, so it's tough to get excited about any of the pass catchers. Even Mooney sat just 45th among WRs in PPR points through Week 11.
Bears WR Darnell Mooney hurt his left ankle in the 3rd quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Jets and is officially doubtful to return. We'll update his status when we know more.
Fox Sports' Jay Glazer reports that Bears QB Trevor Siemian took a pain-killing injection for his oblique injury and might still start vs. the Jets today. Both Siemian and QB Nathan Peterman took some 1st-team reps in final warmups. You should obviously be staying far away from this situation in fantasy lineups.
Bears QB Trevor Siemian suffered an oblique injury in pregame warmups, so QB Nathan Peterman will now get the start vs. the Jets. Siemian wasn't a great option, but Peterman is even worse. He's somehow managed to toss 12 INTs on 135 career pass attempts. You should try to avoid Chicago's passing game in Week 12 fantasy lineups. The Jets defense is an elite play.
Bears QB Justin Fields (shoulder) is inactive for today’s game vs. the Jets. He got in 3 limited practices this week, so we’ll see if he can get cleared for Week 13. QB Trevor Siemian makes his 30th career start today. He owns a 59% completion rate and 6.6 yards-per-attempt average. Chicago figures to throw it at least a bit more with Siemian under center, but we wouldn’t consider this an upgrade for anyone on the offense.
Bears WR Darnell Mooney turned 5 targets into 4 catches, 29 yards and 1 score in a Week 11 loss to Atlanta. Mooney nearly added a long TD, but Justin Fields’ downfield pass arrived overthrown. His true TD came from 16 yards out with help from a well-executed pick. The young WR now enters Week 12 with 6 or fewer targets in all but 2 games this season. Next up is an elite Jets pass D.
Bears TE Cole Kmet caught 4 balls for 74 yards and 2 TDs in Sunday's narrow loss to the Lions. He drew a team-high 7 targets and accounted for the Bears' only 2 receiving scores, including 1 from 50 yards out. WR Darnell Mooney was the only other Chicago player to catch more than 1 ball. Mooney snagged all 4 of his targets for 57 yards. Atlanta presents a positive fantasy-scoring matchup for all aspects of the Bears offense in Week 11.
Bears QB Justin Fields went off against Miami in Week 9, rushing 15 times for 178 yards and 1 score. Oh, and he added 3 TDs through the air. The ground game was really rolling, though, as Fields’ yardage marked a single-game record for a QB. There simply aren’t many QBs that can move the way he does. And it’s clear that designed runs are becoming a bigger part of the offense. Fields’ passing scores went to Darnell Mooney and Cole Kmet (2). Chase Claypool was a non-factor (2-13) but did garner a 21.4% target share. As Claypool gets up to speed, Fields’ fantasy value only figures to strengthen. He has an excellent 2-game stretch coming up: vs. Detroit and at Atlanta.
The Bears are trading a 2nd-round pick to the Steelers in exchange for WR Chase Claypool, ESPN's Field Yates reports. It's a steep price for a guy who's been mostly disappointing since a flashy rookie season. Claypool ranks 52nd among 62 qualifying WRs in Pro Football Focus' 2022 receiving grades. His 1.03 yards per route run ranks 57th -- a bit behind teammates Diontae Johnson (1.16) and George Pickens (1.14). Of course, Claypool is still just 24 and brings a 6'4, 238-pound frame with 99th percentile athleticism. There's still intriguing fantasy upside here. Chicago is obviously a rough landing spot, though. QB Justin Fields has been better lately but remains a question mark as a passer. And this is the league's run-heaviest offense. The Bears rank dead last with just 20.0 pass attempts per game. That's climbed to 22.8 over the last 5 weeks -- but that's still not a workable number for Claypool. Consider him a WR4 unless we get a significant increase in passing volume from Chicago. Claypool's departure from Pittsburgh should mean more targets for Johnson, Pickens and TE Pat Freiermuth.
Bears QB Justin Fields logged just 17 pass attempts in Sunday's 23-20 win over the Texans, completing 8 for 106 yards, 0 INTs and 2 INTs. Through 3 weeks, Chicago has 10 fewer pass attempts than any other team in the league, with the next lowest being a Giants offense that has yet to play in Week 3. WR Darnell Mooney (6 targets) and TE Cole Kmet (3) assumed their expected positions as Chicago's target leaders, but the shares won't matter until the Bears begrudgingly throw the ball more. Each guy caught just 2 balls vs. Houston.
Bears WR Darnell Mooney sunk fantasy owners in Week 2 with 1 catch for -4 yards. Yeah, that’s not a typo. Justin Fields attempted only 11 passes at Green Bay and piloted an offense that scored 1 TD on the night. He did target Mooney once deep downfield, but the pass was overthrown. Through 2 games, Mooney’s now sitting on 2 catches (5 targets) for 4 yards. He’ll look to break the cold streak at home against Houston.
Bears WR Velus Jones (hamstring) is inactive for tonight’s game vs. the Packers. Darnell Mooney, Equanimeous St. Brown and Dante Pettis operated as Chicago’s top 3 WRs in the opener. We’ll see if WR Byron Pringle’s role increases tonight.
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