Chicago Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney was the best receiver on the roster the past couple of seasons. He was the most dependable receiver to be able to make big catches and extend the defense deep.
Despite a slow start in 2022, Mooney heated up and was on his way to another good season. Then, early on in Week 12, he suffered an injury that shut down his season.
To give you an idea of how bad the Bears‘ wide receivers corps was last season, Mooney still finished with the second-most in both catches and receiving yards.
Mooney is now healthy again and has a big prediction for the Chicago Bears in 2023.
In addition to Mooney’s health, Bears general manager Ryan Poles made a concerted effort to improve the wide receivers unit. He traded the number one overall pick in this year’s draft in return for a number of picks both this year and in the next two.
In addition to the picks, Poles also acquired one of the top receivers in the NFL, D.J. Moore. Moore has thrived in his five seasons in the league despite the Carolina Panthers’ struggles at quarterback. He somehow found a way to have big seasons (he had three consecutive seasons with at least 1,150 receiving yards).
Poles did more to help the Bears’ offense. He selected speedy receiver Tyler Scott and running back Roschon Johnson in this year’s draft. Poles and the Bears expect big things out of both. Additionally, he acquired Nate Davis at right guard, Robert Tonyan at tight end, and running back D’Onta Foreman.
Because of this, Mooney has great feelings for his and the Chicago Bears season.
First of all, Mooney feels healthy and over the ankle injury. He is ready to dominate this season. Last season, he felt disrespected that many analysts around the league felt he wasn’t good enough to be a WR1. This season, he wants to disrespect defensive backs and have a big season. He was recently asked about his expectations for his upcoming season.
"Do whatever I can do for my team. I mean, ball out, of course. Dominate. Not really on the ‘respect my name’ anymore… I’m just disrespecting everybody now. Don’t really care about respect no more. Other than that, I just want to win. Don’t really care about anything else, for real."
Mooney loves the additions to the offense. Also, those who remained from last season will build on that experience. He expects the losing we’ve seen recently to be a thing of the past. This season will be the start of a new era of winning. He had a message for fans as well.
"Another year in the same offense, under the same regime — we understand it. We’re not just thinking about, ‘Are we doing the right things? Are we not doing the right things?’ I just know my year one to year two was a different thing, knowledge-wise… We’re just going to win. We have to win. Nothing else but that… Get ready to win, tired of losing. Don’t go for any hypeness or anything like that. Just get ready to win."
Poles’ move this offseason has really jump-started the hope in Chicago Bears Nation. It’s not only the fans who are excited to see what happens in 2023. The players are really excited and ready to start the season. After seeing the lack of talent on the roster last season, the players are happy to see a much more talented roster. The players, just like the fans, are interested in seeing how much better quarterback Justin Fields can be with the better talent surrounding him.
Of course, this is the season of hope. Every team in the league has hope. We have to see what happens once the games begin for real. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a tremendous era moving forward.