The New York Giants agreed to terms with wide receiver Darnell Mooney on Saturday, signing him to a one-year deal worth up to $10 million according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport. The move continues what has been an aggressive and focused offseason for a franchise committed to building a legitimate passing attack around second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart.
Mooney enters his seventh NFL season and his first with New York after two years with the Atlanta Falcons. He brings 309 career receptions, 4,028 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns across 91 games, giving the Giants a proven and experienced option to round out a receiver room that has been taking shape throughout the offseason.
Building around Dart
Everything the Giants have done this offseason traces back to Dart. New York signed slot receiver Calvin Austin III from the Pittsburgh Steelers, added tight end Isaiah Likely and re-signed Gunner Olszewski to provide additional depth. Mooney is the latest addition to that group, which is anchored by Malik Nabers when he returns to full health.
Nabers is recovering from a torn ACL and full meniscus repair. The Giants have said he is trending toward a return at the start of training camp, but the organization has not waited on that timeline to keep adding. The depth now surrounding Dart reflects a front office that understands how important early development is for a young quarterback, and how much the right supporting cast can accelerate that process.
The Giants also lost Wan’Dale Robinson to the Tennessee Titans in free agency this week. Robinson led New York in receiving yards last season, so his departure left a genuine gap in the slot that the team has moved quickly to address. Mooney and Austin are the primary answers to that need.
Mooney is not being brought in to be a star. He is being brought in to be exactly the kind of receiver a developing quarterback needs: reliable, experienced and capable of creating separation without requiring the play to be designed around him. That role suits his profile and fits the structure the Giants are building.
What Mooney brings from his career
Mooney was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft, taken 173rd overall. He developed into a consistent contributor over five seasons in Chicago, with his best statistical year coming in 2021 when he caught 81 passes for 1,055 yards and four touchdowns. It remains the only season in his career where he crossed the 1,000-yard mark.
He signed with Atlanta ahead of the 2024 season and immediately justified the move. Playing alongside top receiver Drake London, Mooney finished with 64 catches for 992 yards and a career-high five touchdowns, a performance that put him back in the conversation as a genuine contributor at the NFL level.
The 2025 season told a different story. Mooney broke his collarbone on the first day of training camp, missed the opening week and dealt with a hamstring injury later in the year as well. He finished with just 32 catches, 443 yards and one touchdown. The Falcons released him this offseason.
New York is making a straightforward bet. The 2024 version of Mooney, healthy and in a system that used him well, is the player they are paying for. Given the depth around him on the Giants roster and the reduced pressure that comes with playing alongside Nabers rather than being asked to lead a receiving corps, the conditions in New York may suit him better than anything he has had since his best years in Chicago.
What this offseason means for the Giants
The Giants have spent years operating without a clear identity on offense. That is changing. With Dart at the center, a rebuilt receiver room around him and a front office willing to spend in free agency to accelerate the timeline, New York is signaling that the rebuild has an endpoint in sight.
Whether this group is enough to compete remains an open question. The commitment to finding out is no longer in doubt.
Source: usatoday.com
