New York Giants wide receiver Darnell Mooney has been around the NFL block enough times to know that worrying about where he fits on the team’s depth chaart at the position is pointless.
“A lot of those things you can’t even control. You just got to go out here every day and just play your game. Play your game, not worry about those things,” Mooney said. “When you start to worry about those things, it gets in the way of your mental capacity. I’m a big believer of God, and I feel like God is not worried.
Once you start to worry, you don’t have the faith in God. Like I said, be where your feet are and just go play.”
The Giants signed the 29-year-old Mooney to a fully guaranteed one-year, $3 million contract during the offseason.
There are some who believe Mooney is competing for a roster spot. The view here is that Mooney is not competing for a 53-man roster spot, rather he is competing to see how high in the wide receiver pecking order he will be when the regular season begins. All of Mooney’s work during the team’s time in West Virginia came with Jaxson Dart and the first team, and it is hard to imagine the Giants would be wasting consistent first-team reps on a player who would not make the team.
Mooney had 1,055 yards reciving on 81 catches for the Chicago Bears in 2021. He had 992 yards receiving on 64 catches for the Atlanta Falcons in 2024.
A down 2025 season in which he had just 32 receptions for 443 yards left him needing to take a one-year deal from the Giants on the open market. Mooney dealt with a broken collarbone suffered on the first day of training camp last season, and a mid-season hamstring injury.
“I feel like we go through stages in our life for reasons,” Mooney said. “As confident as I was last year, I felt like I was on top of the world. I felt like going into that year, I felt like it was just time to take over.
“And then the first day of training camp, I break my collarbone again. Two times in one year. I mean, I can just be here. I can just be here in this moment and continue just to be in this situation. Be where my feet are and live in the day within the day. I’m excited about today.”
Mooney said his role is “to make plays” on offense.
“I feel like I’ve been doing well with that,” Mooney said. “My hands feel strong. I feel confident. I feel like I’m moving well, so everything’s going smooth.”
