Darnell Mooney has chance to reset with Giants amid roster battle

Last summer, Darnell Mooney felt like he was on top of the world.He said he felt it was time to take over after a 2024 campaign with 992 receiving yards. But on the first play of Falcons training camp, Mooney broke his collarbone.

Then, after recovering and making his season debut in Week 2, he sustained a hamstring injury in Week 4 and was sidelined for another two games.On an Atlanta team that also dealt with quarterback uncertainty, Mooney finished with just 443 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown.  Get texts from Paul Schwartz with all the latest Giants news and insights, exclusive to Sports+ subscribers.

With the Giants, though, Mooney, now healthy and still just 28 years old, has a chance at a reset.He’s part of a group of veteran wideouts competing for the final spots and has flashed chemistry with quarterback Jaxson Dart.

He spent the first two years of his career in offensive coordinator Matt Nagy’s system when Nagy was head coach of the Bears. “I mean, I can just be here,” Mooney said when asked about his health and how it impacted last year.“I can just be here in this moment and continue just to be in this situation.” Mooney, on a one-year deal, is fighting for roles and roster spots with Calvin Austin III, Isaiah Hodgins, Braxton Berrios, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Odell Beckham Jr.

and Jalin Hyatt.He has upside, too, as he ranked eighth in the NFL for average depth of target last season (14.4 yards), according to Pro Football Focus. “There’s some of the things that I’ve played with, the plays, he’s done my first two years in the league,” Mooney said of playing in Nagy’s system.

“He’s got some new plays, but everything’s kind of picking up speed from familiarity.” The Giants facility renovations — set to include a locker room stretching more than 6,000 square feet and a weight room spanning more than 11,000 square feet — have forced them to use a temporary locker room in a tent-like structure in a parki...