Dan Orlovsky’s take on Darnell Mooney outrages Chicago Bears fans
Dan Orlovsky’s decision to omit Darnell Mooney as less than a quality No.2 wide receiver has Chicago Bears fans outraged.
Dan Orlovsky of ESPN has secured his seat at the table.
The table that seats those who deliver hot takes instead of intellectual analysis. Alas, one does not secure his or her spot unless they say something, shall we say, irreverent?
Leave it to Orlovsky to join the crew after what he said about Chicago Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney.
Last Friday, the 11-year veteran and current analyst ran off a series of tweets criticizing the Bears for not providing enough weapons for quarterback Justin Fields.
Justin Fields has (2) pass catchers drafted in the 3rd round or earlier. TWO! A 3rd round rookie WR and a 2nd round TE
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) May 6, 2022
He doesn’t have a #1 or a #2 WR.
His starting WR unit consists of
-Undrafted
-5th round pick
-undrafted
If he plays well-he will be in MVP convo.
Orlovsky then provided a list of players that qualify as No.2 receivers, at least by his metrics.
Respectfully @ChicagoBears fans
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) May 6, 2022
Some #2 WR’s in the NFL
Mike Williams
Chris Godwin
Adam Thielen
Tee Higgins
Michael Gallup
DeVonta Smith
Tyler Lockett
Mooney is a good player-he isn’t a #2 as of yet.
Needless to say, this is laughable, given that Mooney is 18th in receptions and 19th in yards. Moreover, according to NFL veteran Clay Harbor, Mooney was given a grade of 76 by Pro Football Focus, which is good enough to be at least considered among the best No.2 receivers in the game.
Also, if memory serves, Mooney caught 81 passes for 1,055 yards and four touchdowns in 2021, this with three different quarterbacks (Fields, Andy Dalton, and Nick Foles). Furthermore, Mooney graded better on PFF than Gallup (73.4) and Thielen (74.6), and Gallup has just one 1,000-yard season since entering the league.
Dan Orlovsky’s lousy take on Darnell Mooney outrages Chicago Bears fans.
Bears fans were no doubt angry about this take and let Orlovsky have it on Twitter. One individual highlighted Orlovsky’s most notable moment, running out of the back of the endzone for a safety, the epitomical play of the infamous 2008 Detroit Lions. A maleficence in the eyes of the Motor City faithful.
https://twitter.com/TonythePodBoss/status/1522239385340678145?s=20&t=zgkYMjzEfCnhP0KyUKhHrA
Mike Williams didn't have more yards than Mooney had in his second season until his fifth
— Jeremy Layton (@JeremyLayt0n) May 6, 2022
The funniest part are Mooney has been better than most of this list
— Swift Sports Network (@SwiftyNetwork) May 6, 2022
Great job putting 3 guys who had Career years last year
Those are the only 3 that outperformed Mooney
Get a clue, RESPECTFULLY pic.twitter.com/XF0SkqezxG
It’s easy to take shots at the Chicago Bears right now and their players. Just look at their division and who resides there.
The Green Bay Packers are still there, headlined by Aaron Rodgers. Minnesota still has talent all throughout their roster and has shown that they can challenge for the post-season at any point in time despite the flaw of Kirk Cousins.
Detroit landed a massive haul in the draft with Aidan Hutchinson and Jameson Williams. Given how Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes are building the foundation of the team, they too are receiving more attention.
Chicago? Not so much. But Bears fans have to be used to this type of spats from analysts like Orlovsky and others. But the tape doesn’t lie. Darnell Mooney is a worthy No.2 receiver, and if he continues to progress, he has an excellent shot at being a serviceable No.1.
If anything, this should serve as motivation not only for Mooney but for general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus.
The latter two have invested heavily on the defense as of late, and maybe it would be wise to add a little more to the offense to allow Mooney to shine and prove that Orlovsky’s take amounts to nothing more than shock jock material.