As the regular season comes into view, the veteran receivers on the New York Giants' roster have finally started to differentiate themselves. Odell Beckham Jr. and Braxton Berrios have carved out specific roles. Calvin Austin III suffered an unfortunate season-ending knee injury. Darius Slayton has drifted to the bottom of the pecking order, expected to be a healthy scratch in Week 1.
That leaves Darnell Mooney, who has had a relatively quiet offseason. With Austin III sidelined, Mooney has a wide-open path to be New York's primary slot receiver.
If he doesn't take advantage of this opportunity, he might not get another one like it in his NFL career.
Darnell Mooney has a clear path to the Giants' starting lineup
Without Austin III in the mix, the Giants don't have a clear answer at slot receiver. Nabers, Slayton, and Beckham Jr. have all spent the majority of their NFL careers outside the numbers. Fields is a big-bodied ball winner whose skill set doesn't match the typical slot receiver. Berrios can play in the slot, but he's not expected to be much more than a special teams player.
That leaves Mooney as the obvious option. Of course, tight end Isaiah Likely will play plenty of his snaps from the slot, but Mooney is the clearest fit from the wide receiver room.
In Mooney's last two seasons, more than half of his snaps have come from outside the numbers. But in his final two years with the Chicago Bears, he played in the slot more than 60% of the time.
The veteran receiver has experience under Giants offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, who was his head coach in Chicago for two years. Nagy helped Mooney to the best season of his career, when he eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards on 81 catches.
He's a few down seasons removed from that kind of production, but Nagy still has some trust built up with the receiver.
Mooney hardly played in the preseason. He only appeared in the preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings, playing 14 total offensive snaps. Nine of those snaps came out wide, with the other five from the slot. He was never targeted.
At some points in the preseason, it was unclear whether the veteran would make the final roster. He was even rumored to be a potential trade candidate. But now that he's on the team, there could be a role for him.
In a depleted wide receiver room, Mooney will get opportunities to make an impact from the slot this season. If he doesn't take advantage of those chances, he may never earn a prominent role in an NFL offense again.
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