The New York Giants didn’t just get themselves a top tight end this week when they traded for the Las Vegas Raiders’ Darren Waller, they got themselves a weapon.
Waller is a tight end by trade who can do tight end things, but there is more to his game. He can line up in multiple spots in all types of sets and create mismatches all over the field.
“I feel like I’m just a football player. I’ll line up out wide. I’ll line up in the slot. I’ll line up in line. I’ll block. I’ll crack the end if you want me to. Whatever you ask me to do, I feel like I can do it at a high level. That’s what I plan on doing here,” Waller told reporters on Wednesday.
Here is a quick primer of what Waller brings to the Giants’ offense courtesy of NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger.
.@Giants @Rackkwall83 wk 17 v @49ers A small sample of what Waller can do with @Daniel_Jones10 #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/lyt7ChTpwI
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) March 15, 2023
His skill set fits in with the pre-snap motion the Giants use in head coach Brian Daboll and coordinator Mike Kafka’s offense. One more big body moving the defensive pieces around the board.
The acquisition of Waller, for Giant fans, can be likened to those of Jeremy Shockey and Plaxico Burress. Both players were walking mismatches.
In fact, when the Giants drafted Shockey in the first round of the 2002 NFL draft, then-general manager Ernie Accorsi saw the future of the NFL — playmaking tight ends. He called Shockey a ‘weapon’ and likened him to former Baltimore Colts Hall of Famer John Mackey.
”I didn’t pick him because we needed a tight end,” Accorsi said. ”I picked him because he’s a playmaker.”
These days the NFL is all about playmaking tight ends. Just look around. All the good teams have one. Now the Giants can say they have one, too.
