The Giants made a foray into free agency yesterday, signing wideout Darnell Mooney to a one-year, $10 million deal. Even with there being a lot of modest guys getting paid $17 million per year, this is one of the more difficult contracts to defend.
Some will recall our interest in Mooney a year ago at this time. He had, after all, fallen just 8 yards short of a 1,000-year season his first year in Atlanta, despite lesser quarterbacking with a struggling Kirk Cousins coming off injury. Seemed primed for a nice step up as the No. 2. What could go wrong.
Instead, Mooney was a real disappointment, starting all season but bringing very little to the table. Drake London was great and Kyle Pitts had his best season. But Atlanta's No. 2 wideout was made of green cheese.
Mooney started 15 games last season, but caught only 32 passes -- 2.1 per game. A year ago, 47 wide receivers started at least 12 games for their teams. The only one of those who averaged fewer receptions per game than Mooney last year was Rashod Bateman.
| WIDE RECEIVER STATS, 2025 (MINIMUM 12 STARTS) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Rec/G |
| Puka Nacua, LAR | 15 | 166 | 129 | 1715 | 11 | 8.6 |
| Ja'Marr Chase, Cin. | 16 | 185 | 125 | 1412 | 8 | 7.8 |
| Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Sea. | 17 | 163 | 119 | 1793 | 10 | 7.0 |
| Amon-Ra St. Brown, Det. | 17 | 172 | 117 | 1401 | 11 | 6.9 |
| Chris Olave, N.O. | 16 | 156 | 100 | 1163 | 9 | 6.3 |
| George Pickens, Dall. | 15 | 137 | 93 | 1429 | 9 | 6.2 |
| Wan'Dale Robinson, NYG | 15 | 140 | 92 | 1014 | 4 | 6.1 |
| Michael Wilson, Ari. | 13 | 126 | 78 | 1006 | 7 | 6.0 |
| Deebo Samuel, Was. | 12 | 99 | 72 | 727 | 6 | 6.0 |
| CeeDee Lamb, Dall. | 13 | 117 | 75 | 1077 | 3 | 5.8 |
| Jakobi Meyers, 2TM | 13 | 110 | 75 | 835 | 3 | 5.8 |
| Drake London, Atl. | 12 | 112 | 68 | 919 | 7 | 5.7 |
| Ladd McConkey, LAC | 12 | 106 | 66 | 789 | 6 | 5.5 |
| A.J. Brown, Phil. | 15 | 121 | 78 | 1003 | 7 | 5.2 |
| Zay Flowers, Balt. | 17 | 118 | 86 | 1211 | 6 | 5.1 |
| Stefon Diggs, N.E. | 17 | 102 | 85 | 1013 | 4 | 5.0 |
| Michael Pittman, Ind. | 16 | 111 | 80 | 784 | 7 | 5.0 |
| Justin Jefferson, Min. | 17 | 141 | 84 | 1048 | 2 | 4.9 |
| Emeka Egbuka, T.B. | 13 | 127 | 63 | 938 | 6 | 4.8 |
| DeVonta Smith, Phil. | 16 | 113 | 77 | 1008 | 4 | 4.8 |
| Nico Collins, Hou. | 15 | 120 | 71 | 1117 | 7 | 4.7 |
| Courtland Sutton, Den. | 16 | 124 | 74 | 1017 | 7 | 4.6 |
| Rashid Shaheed, 2TM | 13 | 92 | 59 | 687 | 4 | 4.5 |
| Jameson Williams, Det. | 15 | 102 | 65 | 1117 | 7 | 4.3 |
| Davante Adams, LAR | 14 | 114 | 60 | 789 | 14 | 4.3 |
| Tee Higgins, Cin. | 14 | 98 | 59 | 846 | 11 | 4.2 |
| Tetairoa McMillan, Car. | 17 | 122 | 70 | 1014 | 7 | 4.1 |
| Jaylen Waddle, Mia. | 16 | 100 | 64 | 910 | 6 | 4.0 |
| DK Metcalf, Pitt. | 15 | 99 | 59 | 850 | 7 | 3.9 |
| Jauan Jennings, S.F. | 15 | 90 | 55 | 643 | 9 | 3.7 |
| Romeo Doubs, G.B. | 15 | 85 | 55 | 724 | 6 | 3.7 |
| Rome Odunze, Chi. | 12 | 90 | 44 | 661 | 6 | 3.7 |
| Mack Hollins, N.E. | 13 | 65 | 46 | 550 | 2 | 3.5 |
| Jordan Addison, Min. | 12 | 79 | 42 | 610 | 4 | 3.5 |
| Brian Thomas, Jac. | 14 | 91 | 48 | 707 | 3 | 3.4 |
| Alec Pierce, Ind. | 14 | 84 | 47 | 1003 | 6 | 3.4 |
| Tre Tucker, L.V. | 17 | 92 | 57 | 696 | 5 | 3.4 |
| Xavier Worthy, K.C. | 13 | 73 | 42 | 532 | 1 | 3.2 |
| Cooper Kupp, Sea. | 15 | 70 | 47 | 593 | 2 | 3.1 |
| Jerry Jeudy, Cle. | 16 | 106 | 50 | 602 | 2 | 3.1 |
| Darius Slayton, NYG | 12 | 63 | 37 | 538 | 1 | 3.1 |
| DJ Moore, Chi. | 17 | 85 | 50 | 682 | 7 | 2.9 |
| Elic Ayomanor, Ten. | 14 | 89 | 41 | 515 | 4 | 2.9 |
| Xavier Legette, Car. | 12 | 64 | 35 | 363 | 3 | 2.9 |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster, K.C. | 12 | 45 | 33 | 345 | 1 | 2.8 |
| Darnell Mooney, Atl. | 15 | 72 | 32 | 443 | 1 | 2.1 |
| Rashod Bateman, Balt. | 12 | 38 | 19 | 224 | 2 | 1.6 |
The Giants, it must be noted, already had one of these types of receivers in Darius Slayton. He started most of the year and averaged just 3.1 catches per game, showing up just 5 spots ahead of Mooney.
This will at least offer the ring of familiarity to new coach John Harbaugh. He had Bateman on his Ravens team last year. Now he's got two of the worst non-Ravens from last season.
We know Malik Nabers will be the No. 1 wideout here, and with Wan'Dale Robinson gone, Slayton and Mooney will be competing for those 2 and 3 spots.
They'll be doing so without bringing much of a recent track record to the table, looking like pretty ordinary guys. Especially considering how much money each is making.
--Andy Richardson
