Falcons’ Darnell Mooney: ‘I didn’t come here for 1,000 yards; I came here to win’

Wide receiver Darnell Mooney is entering his second season with the Atlanta Falcons, and he has one goal in mind: winning.

“I didn’t really come here [to Atlanta] for 1,000 yards. I came here to win,” Mooney said Friday, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “So, for, you know, anybody that’s like creating that as a top tier for the receivers, that’s not what I came here to do. I came here to win games.”

Mooney totaled 64 receptions for 992 yards (a career-high 15.5 yards per reception) and a career-high five touchdowns last season. He ranked 36th among wide receivers with a 74.0 overall grade, according to Pro Football Focus. Mooney missed one game due to a shoulder injury, which was a Week 18 matchup against the Carolina Panthers.

Mooney offered up analysis on his 2024 performance.

“I did pretty well with the deep routes, and the biggest thing that I want to do is catch the ball and take something to the [end zone],” Mooney said. “Make at least three people miss, have some exciting plays.”

Mooney is entering the second season of a three-year, $39 million deal with the Falcons. The receiver spent the first four seasons of his NFL career with the Chicago Bears (2020-23), where he totaled 81 receptions for 1,055 yards and four touchdowns in 2021. Granted, Mooney averaged just 36 receptions for 454 receiving yards per season from 2022-23.

Mooney is part of a Falcons’ pass-catching corps that includes wide receivers Drake London — who totaled a career high in receptions (100), receiving yards (1,271) and receiving touchdowns (nine) in 2024 — and Ray-Ray McCloud (career-high with both 62 receptions and 686 receiving yards in 2024) and tight end Kyle Pitts. Atlanta also has star running back Bijan Robinson, who earned a Pro Bowl nod last season after rushing for 1,456 yards and 14 touchdowns, while tallying 431 receiving yards.

Atlanta benched veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins for Michael Penix Jr., selected with the No. 8 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft out of Washington, after 14 games. The Falcons went 1-2 with Penix under center and missed the playoffs with an 8-9 record.

That said, Penix is Atlanta’s future at quarterback, and Mooney is enthusiastic about what’s to come with the second-year signal-caller.

“He throws the ball very, very far,” Mooney said about Penix. “He has a strong arm. He can get it out whenever he needs to. Like, if it feels like he’s late, he won’t be late. He can get the ball there in time.”

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