Darnell Mooney
Getty New York Giants wide receiver Darnell Mooney.
The New York Giants are clear-cut buyers heading into the November 10 NFL trade deadline — but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t keep an eye on a few players they might also be sellers on.
ESPN’s Dan Graziano thinks the Giants should consider moving veteran wide receiver Darnell Mooney in that case.
“He is a veteran wide receiver who doesn’t make much money on a team with a potentially emerging rookie receiver in Malachi Fields, so it would make sense,” Graziano wrote.
Mooney signed a 1-year, $3 million contract on March 18 and has just 9 receptions for 133 yards and no touchdowns, as the Giants are off to a 4-2-1 start and are alone in first place in the NFC East for the first time since 2015.
Mooney Had 1,000-Yard Season With Bears
Mooney, 5-foot-11 and 177 pounds, was a 5th-round pick (No. 173 overall) by the Chicago Bears in the 2020 NFL Draft out of Tulane, after posting a blazing 4.38-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine.
In his second season in 2021, Mooney caught 81 passes for 1,005 yards and 4 touchdowns, then followed with consecutive seasons of a little more than 400 receiving yards.
The 2021 season proved to be catnip for the Atlanta Falcons, who signed Mooney to a 3-year, $39 million free-agent contract in 2024. He responded with another great year — 64 receptions for 992 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Nabers, Fields Future for Giants at WR
It’s hard to deny Fields and 3rd-year wide receiver Malik Nabers aren’t the future at wide receiver for the Giants — add in what looks like a Pro Bowl tight end in Isaiah Likely, and there just aren’t many balls to go around.
Mooney’s production — career 17-game averages of 55 receptions for 718 yards and 3 touchdowns — might make him worth a 6th- or 7th-round pick from a team desperate for WR2 or WR3 help right now, like the Los Angeles Rams or San Francisco 49ers.
Nabers is playing at an All-Pro level after missing the final 13 games of the 2025 regular season with a torn ACL.
He was named NFC Offensive Player of the Month for October — he had 36 catches for 509 yards and two touchdowns in four games. He’s Top 10 in the NFL in receptions (48) and receiving yards (605), with 2 touchdowns.
As a rookie in 2024, Nabers made the Pro Bowl with 109 receptions, 1,204 yards, and 7 touchdowns in 15 games.
Fields, 6-foot-4 and 222 pounds, has 16 receptions for 248 yards and 1 touchdown — nubmers that indicate he should probably see more targets moving forward.
Tony Adame covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Denver Broncos, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, San Francisco 49ers, and the entire NFC East Division. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame