Behind quarterback, the Falcons most pressing need was receiver, and now on the second day of the legal tampering period, both are filled.
The club agreed to a four-year deal worth $180 million with Kirk Cousins yesterday. Today, they got him a little help, inking Darnell Mooney to a three-year, $39 million deal, per Ian Rapoport.
Sources: The #Falcons are signing #Bears WR Darnell Mooney, giving them a key new playmaker for Kirk Cousins.
Mooney gets a 3-year, $39M deal with $26M fully guaranteed in a contract negotiated by David Mulugheta and AJ Stevens of @AthletesFirst. A top WR off the board. pic.twitter.com/EgWKYhY0b7
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 12, 2024
Now, $13 million per year for a guy coming off a 414-yard campaign is quite rich, right? Wrong.
Darnell Mooney is the perfect example of a great player in a poor situation. In 13 starts, Justin Fields completed just 61.4% of his passes and less than 200 yards per game. Of course, Mooney wasn’t going to succeed.
Fields started 15 games the year prior, averaging less than 150 yards per game on 60.4% passing in 2022, a campaign where Mooney was limited to just under 500 yards on 40 receptions.
In 2021, Mooney had the best season of his career, hauling in 81 receptions for over 1,000 yards and four scores, despite catching passes from Fields, Andy Dalton, and Nick Foles. Given the circumstances, that’s pretty impressive.
I know a lot of Falcons fans wanted Justin Fields in Atlanta, instead of Kirk Cousins. However, the market shows Fields’ value; it’s not great, which is indicative of his level of play.
Darnell Mooney is going to outperform this $13 million per year deal because Cousins gets his guys the ball. In Minnesota, WR2s regularly reached 800 yards in a season.
The Falcons are expected to run a ton of 11 personnel, which features three receivers, one running back, and a tight end, so the move was necessary. Expect Mooney to have a prominent role in Zac Robinson’s offense, supporting Drake London.
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