Bears receivers coach Mike Furrey was "pounding the table from his office," general manager Ryan Pace said. Coach Matt Nagy, new offensive coordinator Bill Lazor and passing game coordinator Dave Ragone also approved. So, they made a move.
The Bears traded into the fifth round to No. 173 overall, where they selected Tulane receiver Darnell Mooney.
"That just kind of steadily built and gained momentum as we went through the process and definitely as we got our coaches more involved too," Pace said of selecting Mooney.
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Mooney clocked a 4.38 40-yard dash time at the NFL Combine, confirming for the Bears the speed they recognized on tape. The 5-foot-10, 176-pound Mooney has improvements he needs to make -- consistency with his hands have been a concern -- but the Bears are thrilled with the tools they can work with.
"For us, (speed) is one big-time element that Darnell brings to our play style," Nagy said. "We thought that was important. We wanted to come away with that element somewhere. We love the value there of what he's going to bring. Not only does he have the speed, but here's a kid that's an exceptional route runner. He has a snap at the top of his routes. He has a great feel.
"His releases are really good off the line of scrimmage. He understands leverage and when I say that, there might be a defensive back that’s trailing him on his inside hip and he makes a move to the inside to get the snap and then he turns the outside and create separation making it a friendly throw for the quarterback. You just feel every route he runs. He's real smooth."
Though Mooney has work in front of him to crack the Bears' depth chart at receiver, he could earn some sort of role in Nagy's offense.
The Bears failed to consistently produce explosive plays in 2019, posting only four offensive touchdowns of more than 20 yards and zero scores of 40 or more yards. Adding some game-breaking offensive pieces was on the agenda this offseason.
Mooney averaged 14.9 yards per reception at Tulane in 2019.
"There’s a lot of stuff on tape, and he shows where he makes the first guy miss," Nagy said. "And when you’re able to do that with the acceleration that he has, it can turn a 12-yard gain into a home run and a touchdown. We like that. It was really intriguing to us, and we’re ready to see a lot of it.”
While receiver wasn't the Bears' priority position in this draft, it was a spot that needed more depth. Chicago released veteran receiver Taylor Gabriel in February, clearing $4.5 million in salary cap space. But the team didn't add a wideout in free agency to replace Gabriel.
Allen Robinson returns as the Bears' top receiver this season, and veteran Cordarrelle Patterson is expected to take on a larger role. Anthony Miller, Riley Ridley and Javon Wims will compete for playing time as well, but none of them are speedsters.
In making a move for Mooney, the Bears added the needed element of speed at receiver.