Darnell Mooney Finds Opportunity with Giants

By Matt Schauf | Updated on Sat, Mar 14 2026 11:23 PM UTC

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that the Giants are expected to sign WR Darnell Mooney to a one-year deal worth "up to" $10 million. Mooney spent the past two years with the Falcons after arriving as a free agent, but the team released him ahead of the final season of that contract. He played his first four years in Chicago, where Mooney interestingly posted his two largest reception-per-game rates in his first and second seasons (3.8 and 4.8).

2026 Fantasy Football Impact

Assuming this deal goes through, it's at least mildly interesting.

The "up to" $10 million presentation indicates some significant incentive language. Even that max value would fall short of the annual average on his Falcons pact ($13 million). But the structure could point to the Giants hoping he can play a meaningful role and Mooney betting on himself in a year that will find him turning 29 in late October.

The opportunity is there, with Malik Nabers coming off a knee injury that could threaten the start of his season and Wan'Dale Robinson gone.

Second-year QB Jaxson Dart otherwise has TE Isaiah Likely and WR Darius Slayton among his top options.

Mooney enjoyed a solid first season in Atlanta: 64-992-5 receiving and a WR38 ranking in PPR points per game. But his catches per game fell from 4.0 that year to 2.1 last season. That average sits at just 3.4 for his career.

We'll see whether the Giants add a WR early in the draft. But Mooney currently looks like a WR6 type for fantasy drafts, with upside if the cast around him remains similar.

Other Winners & Losers

Slayton's the biggest loser here, but anyone who has counted on him for production has wound up a loser the past two years.

Slayton hasn't reached 3.0 catches per game in a season since 2020 (his second year in the league) and averaged just 2.4 and 2.6 the past two seasons.

Matt Schauf, Editor

Matt has earned two Fantasy Pros accuracy awards for IDP rankings and won thousands of dollars as a player across best ball, dynasty, and high-stakes fantasy formats. He has been creating fantasy football content for more than 20 years, with work featured by Sporting News, Rotoworld, Athlon, Sirius XM, and others. He's been with Draft Sharks since 2011.